Cohen, 56, began his career refining the solar thermal process at Jerusalem's Hebrew University in 1977.

FORBES: Light And Heat

Chemists call it "thermal runaway, " an ever-increasing heating process that can cause the battery to ignite.

WSJ: The Science Behind Dreamliner's Batteries

Developers in California often size their projects at 49.9 megawatts to avoid the licensing process by the California Energy Commission, which oversees thermal power plants with 50 megawatts of annual capacity or more.

FORBES: Geothermal Energy's Trouble Competing With Solar