Moving Mountains To Follow The Sun

Fuelled (excuse the pun) by a recent Royal Decree sanctioned two years ago and redrafted earlier this year, which gives very advantageous rates to generators for producing such renewable energy, wind and solar farms have popped up all over Spain.

At the forefront of these developments is a small and as yet mainly unheard of company based in Pedreguer, Alicante: The Sun and Wind Factory, which many of you will have passed during your Sunday stint at the Pedreguer market.

Working in conjunction with Celemin Energy, an Oliva based company, they have recently completed a small project in Villena (Inland from Ontinyent) on the roof of the recycling plant there, of 201KW (enough to produce electricity for about 150 houses) this represents the first phase of a 25MW of solar power over 4 phases. Until it is connected directly to the grid (which should hopefully be within the next 2 months) the plant itself is using the electricity it produces, however once connected to the grid it should produce an income of some €150,000 per year.

Made up of nearly 1000 solar panels it is quite some sight to see and converts what otherwise would be an unused space into a long term residual income and amplifies the determination of the plant owners to be very green . Now not only recycling paper and waste but also recycling the Suns own energy.

The next phase will be the development of a 3.3MW installation around the area of the recycling plant followed by 3 more phases close by in Alhorines..

Some delays to the current phase were experienced due to literally moving a mountain. The top of a small hill was removed to flatten the area and make it suitable for placing solar panels. The installation itself will be of fixed panel type, where the panels are laid onto a structure at an optimal angle to get the best production of solar energy.

In other installations The Sun Factory are using tracker systems which follow the Sun and give 35% more energy than a fixed installation, however such installations require 10 times more land.

Work has already started on this phase which will consist of some 16,500 panels in total and should be completed before end of December.

The next 3 phases will then commence early next year with eventual completion planned for July 2009. Once completed the farms will generate some 25.5MW of power – enough to supply one third of the requirements of Villena itself.

With other projects planned around the region, The Sun Factory are quickly becoming a major force in the production of renewable energy, and are well on track to become the largest company based in the Costa Blanca.

To find out more about generating an income from the Sun or how you can become greener then drop The Sun Factory a line at [email protected] or call them directly on +34 902021240 / +34 655 939931

Article Source: Vince Barnes
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