A massive 20 megawatt solar power tower was launched in Spain last Monday. The solar plant, operated by Abengoa, is capable of supplying 10,000 Spanish homes with their power needs.

Built in the southern Spanish province of Seville, the solar power plant is the largest in operation and uses 1,255 mirrors to redirect the sun’s energy to the peak of a 165 meter high tower filled with water. Power is generated by the water boiling which in turn causes a turbine to produce electricity.

Abengoa has plans to build a second 20 megawatt plant soon and already has a 10 megawatt plant producing energy. Their goal is to produce 300 megawatts through such solar energy towers by 2013 by adding another five 50 megawatt plants.

The massive 50 megawatt plants will use parabolic troughs to further concentrate the solar energy.

Spain produces more than 3,000 megawatts of  electricity through solar energy and was ranked as the world’s second largest producer of solar power last year

Of all the places to find a planned city built around the principle of having absolutely no carbon footprint and no waste, you wouldn’t expect to find it in the oil rich United Arab Emirates. But that’s exactly where the city of Masdar is being built.

Not only is the desert of the United Arab Emirates, rich in oil, it is also rich in sunlight. It is with this in minds that Masdar is being powered primarily by solar energy.

The project that is Masdar City was begun in 2006 and is expected to take eight years to complete at a cost of approximately $22 billion. Some of the expected population of 50,000 will move into Masdar sometime this year.

Among the first construction projects happening in Masdar now is a massive 10 megawatt solar farm that is expected to generate between 40 to 60 megawatts through solar energy. First Solar is providing the solar panles necessary for the first five megawatts of power and Suntech Power Holdings is suppliying the other five.

A larger solar farm is planned for later as are a large number of photovoltaic modules which will be located on rooftops of buildings. The rooftop solar panels are expected to generate an additional 130 megawatts.

Wind turbines are also planned for the outskirts of Masdar. Geothermal power will be constructed as will the world’s largest hydrogen power plant to help the city attain its completely renewable energy goals.

Masdar will have absolutely no cars. Instead, residents and visitors will rely on a personal rapid transit (PRT) system. The PRT runs about the city on cables with the cars (which look like some kind of sci-fi motorcycle) able to hold four people at a time.

Dr Sultan Al Jaber is the chief executive of Masdar. He recently spoke at the opening ceremony of the World Future Energy Summit where he stated that that by 2020 he aims to have 7% of Abu Dhabi (the emirate where Masdar is being built) running on renewable energy.in

While almost all industries and types of real estate are in the crapper in the U.S. right now, applications to build solar projects in areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management are up by 78%.

The projects are all 10 megawatts or greater solar power plants. The ideal real estate being sought is desert land in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. There are a total of 223 applications currently submitted for approval and seeking a combined acreage of 2.3 million.

Clearly this is a sign that entrepreneurial spirits have spotted a niche in the energy market where they expect to make some serious money via solar power.

Head over to Green Tech Media for more details on this interesting race for solar energy.