A Solar Gold Rush Is Spreading From California to New Jersey Solar power is exploding in America, particularly in California. San Luis Obispo's Palm Theatre and Berkeley's Shotgun Players are now the first solar-powered theaters in the country; FedEx's distribution center in Fontana has a solar system covering 20,834 square feet; and Google's Mountain View campus boasts America's largest corporate solar installation. True to its pioneering spirit, California is leading the way -- but that's not to say other states aren't tagging quickly behind. There's New Mexico, with an abundance of arid land and sunlight, offering the perfect platform for large-scale solar thermal installation projects. New Mexico recently welcomed a project from Germany's Schott Solar, one of the world's leading solar companies, which has invested $100 million to build a solar equipment manufacturing plant outside Albuquerque. As the solar industry continues to swell, is there actually a foreseeable downside? Those in the industry say rooftop photovoltaic panels won't be enough to combat climate change; the need is for larger solar thermal systems like Nevada Solar One, the world's third-largest solar power plant, located just south of Boulder City, Nev., which went online in 2007. But big plants, usually built in the desert where the sun shines the brightest, require high-voltage transmission power lines to reach customers in the cities, and where those power lines are supposed to go is a divisive environmental issue. For example, in San Diego, the local utility company has faced opposition to building a power line through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California's largest state park and a vulnerable wilderness that environmentalists have vowed to protect. Similar battles might break out in the future as the need for renewable energy projects conflicts with where, exactly, to put them....