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Spain Plans to Build a "Solar City" Powered by Solar and Wind Energy
It can meet the energy needs of 600,000 residents purely by using sunlight, wind and hay to generate electricity. It sounds like this is just a whimsy of environmentalists. However, in the Spanish province of Navarra, this is becoming a reality.According to a report by the British "Times" on the 2nd, the local government plans to build this place into a huge "Sun City" in the next few years.
The province of Navarre is located at the junction of northern Spain and France, covering an area of approximately 10,000 square kilometers and is famous for its long history. What makes Navarre famous today is its "Solar City" plan, which mainly relies on solar energy.
Navarra has the largest solar farm in the world, located in the vineyards of Milagro City, covering an area equivalent to 50 football fields.
In this giant solar farm, hundreds of solar panels are erected. From a distance, each panel looks like a robotic sunflower. According to the Spanish Solar Energy Corporation, which is responsible for the construction of the project, solar panels can be subscribed by individual residents. Each panel sells for about US$65,000 and has a shelf life of at least 25 years. Spanish Solar Energy AG provides loan services and is responsible for the maintenance and operation of all equipment. The company hopes to recover its investment and become profitable within 10 years.
However, as far as the current situation is concerned, the power supply capacity of the solar farm is not ideal, with a peak power of 9.5 million watts, which is only equivalent to 6 wind turbines.
While focusing on solar energy, Navarra also built a bio-raw material factory that uses plant straw as raw material to supply energy. Another biofuels plant processes vegetable oil into fuel for diesel engines.
At the same time, there are a total of 1,100 windmills in Navarra Province, which can meet 55% of the province's electricity demand.
Navarre's rivers are also responsible for part of the electricity supply, and a number of hydroelectric power plants have been established here.
Currently, about 70% of the electricity used in the province of Navarra is renewable. It is expected that this proportion will increase to 75% by 2010. In the following years, Navarra will completely achieve the goal of pollution-free energy output.
When the whole world is worried about how to meet energy needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the "renewable energy" plan of the Navarra Province has inspired people, and there is an endless stream of people coming to learn from it.
However, amid the rush to learn from Navarra, some environmental groups have questioned this. They believe that the emergence of large numbers of windmills may damage the local landscape and bring disaster to birds, because birds can easily be caught in the windmills and hanged. "Their practices are unsustainable and illegal," environmental activist Antonio Munilla said. "We have raised this issue with parliament and the European Union."
However, Spanish Solar AG argued that their survey showed that more than 95% of Navarre residents agreed with the "renewable energy" plan. Michael Larnby, a 28-year-old Pamplona native, said, "Oil resources are facing depletion and will also cause pollution. So I hope that regions that want to develop renewable energy can learn from Navarra."
