Good news for those living in Spain

[jojo]

The trouble (from the little I know) with solar energy is that its not that good!!!! A friend of mine installed it into her house for 11.000+€ and its only works for half the day and so she had to then install a generator to back it up, which isnt efficient at all! She reckons it'll be 30 odd years before its paid for itself! She and her son are limited on the ammount of time they can use electricity, TV, PC, hairdryer, showers etc. cos they save it for essentials like cooking and lighting! Its certainly not the way forward from her perspective!

They need to do some serious work on this to get it up and running and efficient! Cos in Spain, its a brilliant idea - if it works properly!

Jo xxx

[Xose]

Originally Posted by jojo

The trouble (from the little I know) with solar energy is that its not that good!!!! A friend of mine installed it into her house for 11.000+€ and its only works for half the day and so she had to then install a generator to back it up, which isnt efficient at all! She reckons it'll be 30 odd years before its paid for itself! She and her son are limited on the ammount of time they can use electricity, TV, PC, hairdryer, showers etc. cos they save it for essentials like cooking and lighting! Its certainly not the way forward from her perspective!

They need to do some serious work on this to get it up and running and efficient! Cos in Spain, its a brilliant idea - if it works properly!

Jo xxx

That's right Jo. A solar panel on the roof will not supply a house with 5Kw of continuous energy.

However, hectare uppon hectare of Solar Panel farms generating gigawats into the national gird is BIG business. And the power companies are paying at rates of 3, 4 and even 5 times what we pay for a Kw. Hence the famous arguments about the balance of energy costs they're always on about regardless of the zillions profits they make.

Spain has the square mileage to do this - and then some. Also, panel technology is changing at a hell of a pace. Those who have the infrustructure in place first will win the day. Taht's why I hope Spain stops building bloody flats and tower blocks and starts R&D in its future.

Xose
P.S. Same goes for the wind farms and hydroelectric.

[Pesky Wesky]

Originally Posted by Xose

That's right Jo. A solar panel on the roof will not supply a house with 5Kw of continuous energy.

However, hectare uppon hectare of Solar Panel farms generating gigawats into the national gird is BIG business. And the power companies are paying at rates of 3, 4 and even 5 times what we pay for a Kw. Hence the famous arguments about the balance of energy costs they're always on about regardless of the zillions profits they make.

Spain has the square mileage to do this - and then some. Also, panel technology is changing at a hell of a pace. Those who have the infrustructure in place first will win the day. Taht's why I hope Spain stops building bloody flats and tower blocks and starts R&D in its future.

Xose
P.S. Same goes for the wind farms and hydroelectric.

I agree, it's solar power farms where the investing needs to take place at the moment. On an individual basis it's not really viable yet. But there are problems. Here's an article in Spanish sorry, don't have time to translate anything at the moment, am supposed to be working...
Frenazo a la energía solar española | Ciencia | elmundo.es

[Xose]

Originally Posted by Pesky Wesky

I agree, it's solar power farms where the investing needs to take place at the moment. On an individual basis it's not really viable yet. But there are problems. Here's an article in Spanish sorry, don't have time to translate anything at the moment, am supposed to be working...
Frenazo a la energía solar española | Ciencia | elmundo.es

Yes the politics are a bit screwed up and I agree on the options to ZP.

We have one of Rajoy's boys running the Xunta here at the moment. And so far it ain't very funny.

Yes there is some political issue with solar energy at the moment. But believe me, I have some contacts in the field, it isn't stopping those that hopefully will be the big players in the future getting their infrastructure in place. I know of several large fields in Southern Spain that were once worth not a lot and are today worth millions just because the politicians locally agreed for it to be a solar plant...one day. It's in its infancy, so far as large plant layouts are concerned and as at now property speculation based on the possibility of it BEING big enough, etc etc is in itself big business. These guys I know do not kid themselves that they will ever take on the likes of Iberdrola Renovables, but they are preparing what will in my opinion be a huge piece of cheese for them.

Don't worry on the doc - I'm Spanish so not a prob for me!

Have some more smilies by the way...

Xose.

[Pesky Wesky]

Originally Posted by Xose

Yes the politics are a bit screwed up and I agree on the options to ZP.

We have one of Rajoy's boys running the Xunta here at the moment. And so far it ain't very funny.

Yes there is some political issue with solar energy at the moment. But believe me, I have some contacts in the field, it isn't stopping those that hopefully will be the big players in the future getting their infrastructure in place. I know of several large fields in Southern Spain that were once worth not a lot and are today worth millions just because the politicians locally agreed for it to be a solar plant...one day. It's in its infancy, so far as large plant layouts are concerned and as at now property speculation based on the possibility of it BEING big enough, etc etc is in itself big business. These guys I know do not kid themselves that they will ever take on the likes of Iberdrola Renovables, but they are preparing what will in my opinion be a huge piece of cheese for them.

Don't worry on the doc - I'm Spanish so not a prob for me!

Have some more smilies by the way...

Xose.

Xose, much better on the smilie front!!

Here is a rough translation of a few things mentioned in the report in my previous post for those of you whose Spanish isn't up to it...
There are 100 projects (solar farms??) which need to be registered before they can operate. 34 of those are being built.
The Ministery of Industry hasn’t passed the decree which would serve as the legal framework in which these plants would be operating after they have been registered.
Right now the sector is booming , but the delay in the bureaurocracy will put the brakes on any further develpments in 2010.
Spain is the only country in the EU which has the land and conditions necessary for the development of large scale thermo electric solar power plants. Each plant of 50 MW would generate some 10.000 jobs during its construction.
And that last point on its own makes me feel that the govenment is losing a golden opportunity with the crisis to retrain and invest in these markets rather than have a few bods doing some building work for the town halls for a year.

[mrypg9]

Originally Posted by Tallulah

666 posts?!? What a great opportunity to use this smilie then ... mwhahahahaaaa! (we know you're really an ... ).


I had to have a giggle at the "Scourge of the Phantom Diner" article...had my suspicions it could have been Steve Hall, until they provided a description...and of course the lack of getaway vehicle (the camper van!!).

Anyway........


Spain has long since been a place where wealth is difficult to generate than the UK or other European countries, but in balance, generating wealth in the UK and coming to Spain to spend it or enjoy one's retirement has long since been the favoured choice. It makes sense if you think about it. Imagine, having £300k and going off to live in India. I'm not suggesting Spain is like India, of course, but the cost of simply existing is less than the UK due to the economic models and particularly indirect taxation.

The fact that Spain was not long ago a bit like a South American country with people existing with very little money, has made it a popular target for those living close by - the bad news ... how long before Spain adopts all the economic models in the Northern countries and becomes less attractive to live in? Other than simply climate? Hopefully, for those who have external revenue a long way off! But the change as I'm sure most have noticed, has already started.

Tallulah.x

I agree with everything you have written. I remember coming bhere many years ago when I was a student. Torrevieja was a charming little village then! In those days, Spain was a bit like Turkey was in the late '70s.
In the early 80s we used to spend the summers in pre-trendy clubber Ibiza. We lived in a finca outside Santa Eulalia, then an unspoilt village. I saw a photo of Santa Eulalia recently - didn't recognise the place.
Things began to change after Spain joined the EU. The pace of change has been quite rapid.
I fear you are right about the inevitable social changes that will accompany growing prosperity.
Strange, really: both wealth and poverty create their own unique problems....