Solar on top of the world!

Here's a question for you: which is the best place to capture solar energy?

Desert? Right, for obvious reasons. But wait, a recent study has found another more optimal place and that's the mountains!

It concludes that some of the world's coldest landscapes -- including the Himalaya Mountains, the Andes, and even Antarctica -- could become Saudi Arabias of solar. The research appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Many hot regions such as the U.S. desert southwest are ideal locations for solar arrays. However, they also found that many cold regions at high elevations receive a lot of sunlight -- so much so that their potential for producing power from the sun is even higher than in some desert areas.

The team found, for instance, that the Himalayas, which include Mt. Everest, could be an ideal locale for solar fields that generate electricity for the fast-expanding economy of the People's Republic of China. Chances are that the Chinese, on hearing this will start building a massive solar array for the Himalayas! The roadways and railways are almost in place anyway (in fact, the holy Kailash will soon see motorised parikrama!)