The solar revolution starts in Amareleja
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Independent Minds
The Alentejo region enjoys more sunlight each year than any other place in Europe. So it's here, in south-east Portugal, that an immense solar power station has been set up, producing more energy than any other in the world. This plant alone meets the needs of 30,000 Portuguese homes.
Traditionally a farming area, now ravaged by desertification, the area round Moura aspires to be Europe's test site for economic development via the renewable energies sector. When the company Acciona bought this project, local institutions thrashed out an agreement with them under which the company funds a development fund for the region.
A micro-generation generator has been installed on the roof of a school. These solar panels enable the building to be self-sufficient in terms of energy. The mayor of Moura negotiated Acciona's investment plan. Fifteen per cent of the inhabitants here – 1,000 people – are unemployed.
José Maria Pos-de-Mina, Mayor of Moura: "About 20 small installations like these have been set up already. We aim to have 60 of them by the end of the year. That boosts the creation of specialised companies installing these kind of products and developing other sectors. Our primary goal is to reduce unemployment. Our aim and our dream is to create 500 new jobs."
So far, 120 jobs have been created. Most of those who've been hired work here, in the factory that was set up at the same time as the power station. The factory manufactures solar panels.
Forty-five per cent of Portugal's electricity is produced via renewable energies. The goal is to boost that to 60% by 2020.
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And if coal had to pay for the damage CO2 is doing...
45%. Portugal.
The only way that Solar PV will give security of supply is with a continent-wide distribution system (HV DC) which will cost tens of billions (possibly hundreds of billions). When you include that in the costs, I think that you could build a few Nuclear stations which would provide the same power for less money & with greater security (even on generally cloudy days).
The only direct subsidy that Nuclear would require would be Insurance, guaranteed price to cover market fluctuations which are more difficult for Nuclear because most of the costs for Fission are front-end & a possible subsidy for the Waste Depository.
This is not to say that we should not carry out building Pilot Plants each time there is an incremental change in Solar PV Efficiency. Eventually it will contribute to Power Supply but only as a minority - mainly in Southern Europe.
Solar energy does not add to greenhouse gasses and utilises normally wasted energy. The worst form of energy generation is coal, it releases carbon dioxide sequestered over millions of years in a few minutes. Not only should we be considering CO2 emissions but the time scale of these emissions. The Victorian fires released tons of CO2 but regrowth will re-capture it in the short term as the forests regrow. Besides coal is a surface active material and when mined releases methane, when burnt it releases lead and mercury. The mercury polluting our oceans comes mainly from burning coal.