Black-painted surfaces that receive the sun's heat become hotter than surfaces of any other color.
VOA: special.2009.04.20
Similarly, solar thermal energy--which harnesses the heat of the sun to generate steam-powered turbines--consumes more than 2, 600 liters of water per megawatt hour, 200 liters more than coal-powered generation needs to produce the same energy.
The summer months see Times Square overrun by visitors all scrambling for their "I Heart NYC" t-shirt and matching sun visor, while the Empire State Building's elevator queue can, through the heat-haze, seem to extend as far, horizontally, as the iconic building stretches for the skies.
BrightSource generates electricity using an approach called concentrated solar power, in which computer-controlled mirrors, known as heliostats, focus the sun's heat to boil water and turn a steam turbine.