Discussing Solar Thermal (aka Concentrated Solar Power, or CSP) in Quaint Los Olivos, CA

On Sunday afternoons, I like to take a decent hike, say 7 or 8 miles, and wind up at a nice place where I can get a beer, shake a few hands, and discuss what’s going on in the world.  Today was a banner day for this enterprise, as there were several groups at my destination (The Los Olivos Café, pictured here) with whom I had stimulating talks.

One guy was an industrial plastics salesman; this didn’t seem to hold much promise until I learned that one of his key accounts is the FPL (Florida Power and Light) solar thermal project here in California.  He sells the piping, connectors, and a whole bunch of other stuff to one of the most exciting renewable energy projects in the region.