With major solar installations going up at Jacob’s Field and in front of the Great Lakes Science Center in time for the largest national renewable energy conference–which is being held in Cleveland this year, by the way from July 7-12; check out this link for more details. Sometimes the future around here seems so bright I have to wear shades.

But we would be wise not to let our progress blind us to efforts elsewhere in the world. Even the diehards in Silicon Valley are slowly waking up to the notion of long cycles (see third entry down) and realizing that the halcyon days of the information age may be waning for California. Today, Green Wombat covers California’s efforts to turn Silicon Valley into Solar Valley.

Should we be scared? Of course we should. As Andy Grove said, only the paranoid survive. But we should also be heartened by this indicator that we’re on the right track.

If you’re interested in attending the technical sessions, you can sign up for them here. If your interests are more casual, the Cleveland team has put together seven amazing tours of the region’s major renewable initiatives starting at just $50. You can sign up for these and for several other workshops that will be part of Solar Cleveland at:

www.greenenergyohio.org/solar2007.

For the curious but tentative, Sunday July 8 is free and open to the public.

Check it out–and don’t forget to bring your sunglasses!