I have had a quick scan thruough the thread & I can't see where anyone has discussed the current Solar Generation plans being under taken by the Australian Gov.
My company is currently involved in the design & possible construction of a solar generation power system in Qld.
Here is the web site for the project.
http://www.solarflairproject.com.au/2010/
To put it simply;
It does not use PV panels, it uses concave mirrors to intensify the sun's heat onto a pipe which is carrying "oil". The high temp oil then heats water into steam which turns the turbine.
In addition there is an underground "tank" which contains a substance that is also heated by the hot oil via a heat exchange system. This substance stores the heat & then after the sun goes down the stored heat is used to keep heating the oil. The heat storage substance is able to continue heating the oil for another 3hrs after the sun is gone. Enough to generate through the evening peak period.
The design will produce 150mw from 1.5hrs after dawn through to 3hrs after sundown. The mirror array covers approx 30 hectares.