Acciona made a hefty profit by selling on to Enel, an Italian energy firm, last year.

ECONOMIST: A boardroom row at Repsol

Solar One wouldn't be there if not for the doggedness of Gilbert Cohen, the French-born engineer who runs the operation on behalf of Spanish conglomerate Acciona Solar Power.

FORBES: Light And Heat

As Mexico transitioned from protectionism to export-led growth, companies such as Ford, Nissan, Siemens, Acciona, Telefonica, and Foxconn have all made major investments and hired thousands of employees.

FORBES: Mexico's Economic Trajectory: Onward and Up?

Acciona Energia, Clipper Windpower and Siemens USA now operate wind manufacturing facilities in the state, and last month Culver's office announced that TPI Composites will open a plant in Iowa to build turbine blades for GE Energy.

FORBES: Magazine Article

These small companies will be competing for financing against European giants with big balance sheets and long histories of building big, complicated projects like Abengoa and Acciona (who have already built and are still building solar thermal projects) and Siemens and Areva (who both acquired solar thermal companies recently).

FORBES: Solar Thermal Hopefuls Make Their Case, Battle For Financing