Solar CSP (or solar thermal to many) is currently a poor cousin to solar PV, which is hogging all the limelight, and deservedly so. Currently, solar CSP has less than 5% of the cpacity of the installed solar PV capacity worldwide. But that is not deterring many countries from having ambitious targets for solar CSP. The following post from EAI (an Indian renewable energy blog) shows how India is bullish on solar CSP: " Despite there being more than 10 different Solar CSP technology combinations in the market now, and more than 400MW installed capacity worldwide, India�s role in the CSP sector has been comparitively reticent � However, latest government incentives are set to reverse that trend. Writing for CSP Today, Giles Parkinson notes that the international arena�s biggest CSP heavyweights are making a beeline for India, which boasts the most ambitious solar energy development plan in the world. A simple set of numbers illustrate the enormous potential of solar energy: its current capacity is 5MW, and its target for 2022 is 20,000MW. " From what I read, India is allocating the 20,000 MW target for solar equally between solar PV and CSP, ignoring the current global status that is heavily skewed towards PV. I am not sure if this decision for allotment was taken based on in-depth analysis, but I spoke to some friends in India regarding the government's and industry's perspective towarads CSP, and they mentioned that many companies were quite bullish about CSP though they really have not put in their money into it yet. Globally as well, I heard from an industry professional that starting 2012, solar CSP is expected to grow at an incredible pace once some technological questions have been sorted out. What are your views on the solar CSP trends worldwide? Do you share the general optimism that it would start inching towards solar PV in terms of installed capacities by about 2015? Here is a link that might be useful: Solar CSP

Wow, this is a painfully difficult-to-read translation from Chinese of something of little concern to us on GW. Let's move it on down into the archives....

Folks, if you must sell in this market...it's all about price. That's normally true anyway, but especially now. I moved to a fairly transient (military) area, where there is a fair bit of new construction. There wasn't much of a bubble but we feel the slowdown. As a result, the builders are dropping and dropping prices, BUT they're moving houses, while most private sellers sit on high prices unsold. Maybe those sellers can't go any lower, but they're not selling either. Many places have come up for rent. My equity from my down payment has pretty much vanished (shh don't tell my lender, they might insist I pay PMI!). But the market is moving again (ok maybe it's the normal seasonal effect too).

Thanks for your kind remarks everyone and wishes for recovery. I appreciate your encouragement and support! I have been very pleased with my progress in both surgeries. The shoulder is back to 95% with just a little range of motion to get back, which apparently impressed my surgeon as it's well ahead of the usual schedule. All that good muscle tone from hauling garden debris and stretching to reach wayward roses has clearly paid off. I'm really grateful for that use of my shoulder, since I rely on it to get into and out of sitting positions now after the hip surgery. Even four days out of surgery, I'm already standing and sitting fairly easily and navigating my house without much problem. Lesley (and Diane's friend) - the best advice I can give you as you work up to your hip replacement is to keep moving within reason - the two best forms of exercise to counteract arthritis are apparently light weightlifting and (ahem, drumroll...) gardening! Think of it - all that squatting and stretching and weight shifting we do all the time? The better you can move before the surgery, the easier the recovery. At the same time, listen to your body and the doctors! If it hurts or feels wrong don't do it, and follow the doctor's instructions. There are some horror stories going around my YMCA of a member who had his hip replaced and felt so good he cleaned his garage the next day, mowed the lawn, and other foolishness. He ended up getting the hip infected, needing a second surgery, and totally complicating his life. There's a reason I'm unapologetically propped up in my recliner and making my preteen kids do the household chores ("you'll thank me later, kids"). Boy, we do have quite a collection of injuries and ailments affecting our GW family! Alana, I hope your doctor can fit you in now to get past the problems so that you can enjoy spring! As Jackie and Carol said, there is something inherently healing about being out in the garden and "playing" with our roses. Meredith, a bone graft on toes sounds daunting and complex, though I'm glad you've been able to manage long enough to schedule surgery in winter when it's more feasible - I don't think we fully appreciate how much we rely on our toes for walking and standing until they cause us problems. Judith, I totally sympathize on waiting for non-emergency surgery until you don't need use of that hand - we'll all be thinking of you and Meredith and Alana and hoping for a speedy recovery as well. In terms of your knee surgery, I totally sympathize. In my hip/knee prep class, I learned that knees are much trickier surgeries than hips because of the structure and pressure on those joints, and the rehab is much longer and more painful. Glad to hear you're back to speed as far as the knee goes! Ingrid, it's fantastic that you've been able to relieve pain without surgery on your shoulders! I remember you talking about how debilitating those shoulders were, and as gardeners we rely on our shoulders more than we realize for everything you do. Of course your garden and landscape is an inspiration to you, since it clearly is to all of us as well, in your lovely photos and stories of gardening. Here's hoping for decent rainfall into the growing season in California. Ken, I can relate about picking your house with the garden in mind. When we were planning to move in town about 8 years ago, a friend suggested we look at their house they were selling in a nice part of town. I mentioned how important gardening was to me and she said, "Me too - I have a well-established garden". I drove by and her garden was no bigger than my couch. Clearly we had different ideas of what we were looking for in a garden. Sharon, I agree with you on travel. There isn't a trip we've made in the last 10 years that was even considered in April or May, which is prime rose planting season. Even an extended family gathering in mid-June last year was pushing it a bit, but it was a unique situation. Besides in Kansas, July/August is the right time to head to the mountains and escape the heat. Karen, you're very sweet to enjoy my garden photos and posts - that's one of many factors that make GW the go-to place for enjoying rose chatter. And really folks - Diane & Ingrid included - you forget when I'm talking about pruning 750 roses, this is zone 5 and I'm a zone pusher with lots of hybrid teas. Pruning an HT can take as little as 30 seconds - "is there any surviving cane?" "nope" - lop off entire blackened rose bush an inch or two above soil line. The Austins can get a little tricky, as they have canker that's not visible that needs several cuts to get to clear cane. Huge twiggy roses like Darlow's Enigma tend to not get pruned at all in spring - partly because he laughs off the winter, and partly because trimming off those pesky little dead twig ends is easier when the leaves are fully emerged. At a pinch, I can get all the roses spring pruned in three fairly packed weekends, but this spring I get to do a few hours a day and to me in spring, that's leisurely. Stay healthy and thanks again for the support! Cynthia