Spain has the dubious distinction of having the HIGHEST unemployment rate among industrial countries.
Posted on 07/13/2010 9:27:50 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Spain has opened the world's largest solar power station, meaning that it overtakes the US as the biggest solar generator in the world. The nation's total solar power production is now equivalent to the output of a nuclear power station.
Spain is a world leader in renewable energies and has long been a producer of hydro-electricity (only China and the US have built more dams). It also has a highly developed wind power sector which, like solar power, has received generous government subsidies.
The new La Florida solar plant takes Spain's solar output to 432MW, which compares with the US output of 422MW. The plant, at Alvarado, Badajoz, in the west of the country, is a parabolic trough. With this method of collecting solar energy, sunlight is reflected off a parabolic mirror on to a fluid-filled tube. The heated liquid is then used to heat steam to run the turbines. The mirror rotates during the day to follow the sun's movement. The solar farm covers 550,000 square metres (the size of around 77 football pitches) and produces 50MW of power.
Protermosolar, the association that represents the solar energy sector, says that within a year another 600MW will have come on-stream and projects that by 2013 solar capacity will have reached 2,500MW.
The northern, though thinly populated, region of Navarra is already producing 75% of its energy from a range of renewables, including wind, solar, hydro and biomass. Spain's windfarms now produce around 20,000MW of electricity and on one day in November they accounted for 53% of demand. Last year, solar energy met 2.8% of demand out a total of 12.9% for all renewables. In March, the government announced a plan to increase the renewable share to 22.7% by 2020, slightly ahead of EU targets.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Unemployment in SPain is what again?
Sovereign debt of Spain is what again?
Cap and Trade/Tax has done what in Spain again?
Congratulations, Spain....=.=
MORE HERE :
http://www.evwind.es/noticias.php?id_not=6477
Spain is now the country with the world’s largest Concentrating Solar Power (432 MW)
13 de julio de 2010
The solar thermal sector in Spain has been mobilized 2,500 million in investments and in 2013, will operate a total of 60 solar thermal power plants of different technologies and sizes.
Spain has become the country with the largest solar thermal power installed with 432 megawatts (MW) and thereby surpass the United States, whose concentrating solar power is at 422 MW, announced today the leading business association of sector, Protermosolar.
Spain has managed to jump through connection, this weekend the 50 MW solar thermal central Florida, located in the municipality of Alvarado (Badajoz) and owned by Renewable SAMCA.
The concentrating solar power has developed new technology for parabolic trough and has a thermal storage system using molten salts.
In addition, it’s a milestone in the field by the solar field size, with 550,000 square m2 of catchment area, and has become the largest in the world between the concentrating solar power in operation.
Protermosolar said that in addition to plants already in operation in Spain, there are others already under construction and that in less than a year could be connected to the network with an additional power of about 600 MW.
The set of solar thermal power plants included in the register of pre-allocation of pay in 2013 will achieve a capacity close to 2,500 MW spread over 60 facilities.
The investment made by companies for the operation of solar thermal power plants now totals about 2,500 million euros and will be around EUR 15,000 million accumulated in 2013.
The Association stressed that Spain is a leader in solar thermal technology and domestic firms are beginning to participate in ambitious projects in many regions of the world (USA, North Africa, Middle East, China, India or Australia).
Protermosolar recalled one of its main strengths are differentials in the solar thermal management and storage capacity, essential for ensuring stability in the Spanish electricity system.
Besides Florida, solar thermal power plants operating in Spain are PS10 (11 MW), PS 20 (20 MW), Andasol 1 (50 MW), Puertollano (50 MW), Puerto Errado (1.4 MW) and La Risca (50 MW), Andasol 2 (50 MW), Solnova 1 (50 MW), Extresol 1 (50 MW), Solnova 3 (50 MW) and Florida (50 MW).
How much has and does Spain pay for the equivalent of 1 nuke plant?
So what happens when the sun doesn’t shine?
How much will this solar plant produce after the sun goes down or during those long winter nights?
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iNQSIn1cUpgJrGdfvnCKQLkP0dag
Spain to cut subsidies to renewable energy producers
(AFP) – Jul 3, 2010
MADRID — The government of Spain, a world leader in the renewable energy, said it has reached agreements with producers to slash subsidies for wind and solar power.
The premiums for wind energy will be cut by 35 percent from January 1, 2013, when the current scheme expires, the industry ministry said in a statement late on Friday.
Thermosolar plants will also give up an advantageous rate they receive for the first year they are in operation.
The two deals also envisage a limit on the number of hours in which wind and thermosolar plants will have the right to collect rates that are above market prices.
“The agreements include short-term measures that will reduce the impact on electricity prices of these technologies, as well as long-term measures that will ensure future stability for both sectors,” the statement said.
It said the measures will “not compromise the profitability of existing facilities and will “benefit consumers.”
Spain’s socialist government last month announced a freeze in electricity prices, suspending a 4.0-percent hike scheduled for July, in order to help households and businesses cope better with the country’s economic crisis.
Spain, along with Germany and Denmark, is among the three biggest producers of wind power in the European Union through companies such Iberdrola Renovables and Gamesa.
Here comes the rub. I've heard that these solar and wind projects are soo expensive to run and upkeep on the equipment, that not only did the Spanish government heavily subsidize their construction, they actually pay the companies huge subsides on the electricity generated. Thus some Spanish utilities to juice revenues installed diesel generators and made a killing by selling the power they were generating at the massively higher prices the government was paying for solar power generated electricity.
But don’t they have to have 422MW of backup for cloudy days?
If such a thing came online here, the left would find some excuse to get it shut down.
They are pro-green energy, they are anti-energy in general.
They do not want us to use energy to have a nice lifestyle equivalent to what the elites have.
I also heard that these solar power plants are so heavily subsidized that it is actually “profitable” for the plant to run diesel generators to power lights to shine on the panels to produce electricity.
Don't worry, Spain will pass us as we destroy dams to protect the three-fin jumping bass.
How much energy does one nuclear power site produce by comparison? Could one nuke plant provide the same energy as 10 to 15 of these farms? Seems like a much better investment to me.
Just the usual editorial quality and fact checking from the Guardian...
Every US nuclear power reactor produces more than 432 MW of electricity. Roughly half of the US nuclear fleet produces over 1000 MW of electricy each.
Hey, the Guardian has never let facts get in its way.
A recent study in Australia on this exact scenario (solar farm vs. a nuclear plant) had the solar farm electricity 25xs more expensive to produce.
Plus you had to deal with all the other factors including:
Dependancy on days of sunshine a year and intensity. You also only get peak output a couple hours a day. There is about 0 power generated at night. You also have to invest in expensive capture technology so power can be stored for transmission during nighttime/cloudy days, etc..
Where as a nuclear plant can run 24/7 and isn’t dependant on weather conditions, etc...
One nuclear reactor typically produces more than 500MW of electricty.
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