Tombs' solar panels fulfill higher power (Green alert)

Columbus Dispatch & AP ^ | November 24, 2008 | Daniel Woolls

[mlocher]

MADRID, Spain -- A new kind of silent hero has joined the fight against climate change.

Santa Coloma de Gramenet, a gritty, working-class town outside Barcelona, has placed a sea of solar panels atop mausoleums at its cemetery, transforming a place of perpetual rest into one buzzing with renewable energy.

Flat, open and sun-drenched land is so scarce in Santa Coloma that the graveyard was about the only viable spot to move ahead with its solar energy program.

The power the 462 panels produce, equivalent to the yearly use of 60 homes, flows into the local energy grid for normal consumption and is one community's odd nod to the fight against global warming.

"The best tribute we can pay to our ancestors, whatever your religion may be, is to generate clean energy for new generations. That is our leitmotif," said Esteve Serret, director of Conste-Live Energy, a Spanish company that runs the cemetery in Santa Coloma and also works in renewable energy.

[mlocher]

The cemetery holds the remains of about 57,000 people and the solar panels cover less than 5 percent of the total surface area. They cost $900,000 to install and each year will keep about 62 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, Serret said.

The real question is, "How much energy did they produce and what were the economic savings?" Since this was not mentioned, I think one can assume that solar panels in this case are not a cheap source of energy.

I also wonder what the carbon footprint is of a decaying body (smile).

[Red Badger]

Que?
What?
Si.
See What?
Que, Si.
Casey Watt?
Yes!
Are you from Barcelona?.............

[null and void]

The cost of the panels and installation and the carbon footprint of the decomposing bodies are one-time expenses...

[dblshot]

Instead of planting flowers
They placed on marble towers
Right over graves
So space is saved
Let’s call it: Souler Power

[WVNan]

For 60 homes they went to all this expense and work? Nutty.

[mlocher]

Let’s call it: Souler Power

LOL!!! Great line! (and poem too.)

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[Pontiac]

The real question is, "How much energy did they produce and what were the economic savings?" Since this was not mentioned, I think one can assume that solar panels in this case are not a cheap source of energy.

Also not mentioned is the life expectancy of the solar panels and the expected maintenance cost.

The only real test is to add up the total life time purchase and operating cost of the solar panels and compare those to the alternatives.

And you really can’t even do that.

A conventional power plant can be upgraded and maintained indefinitely. A solar panel can not. A solar panel has a finite life time. Once it is placed in service it begins to degrade and will slowly loose efficiency.

[hoosierham]

First,why weren't the solar panels placed on the roofs of the 60 homes?Rooftops usually are wasted space and placing solar panels there gets them out of reach of much harm,and the wiring to the point of use is less.

No need to disturb cemeteries.

Currently ,power generated by solar cell panels is several times more expensive than other sources.

Solar makes sense in a number of specific situations where a limited amount of power is need and remoteness or installation costs of power lines is an issue.

I think wind powered generators ultimately produce more power but more people object because of noise or “the view”.
Labor cost is a huge factor in small installations.

[Pontiac]

I think wind powered generators ultimately produce more power but more people object because of noise or “the view”.
Labor cost is a huge factor in small installations. .

I think you find that the noise is a bigger factor to those who live near the wind turbines. Some people claim to not be able to sleep due to the constant Wop Wop of the turbines even 1000 yards away.

Both solar and wind are site limited to be even close to cost viable.

Wind needs near constant winds of 15 mph. Solar needs 300 sunny days per year. (Last time I checked)

[BenLurkin]

Not exactly dancing on their graves — just the 21st century equivalent.