Quentin Gargan

Just back from a couple of days in Spain looking at solar parks. The Spanish government has taken its Kyoto obligations quite seriously and is looking for 500Mw of installed power to come from photovoltaic solar parks. To do this, they are offering a staggering 44 cents per unit for electricity from these parks, and individuals are encouraged to own 100Kw units, usually within a larger solar park sharing maintenance, grid connection etc.

En route to look at these solar parks, we passed through a forest of wind turbines covering hills stretching all along the east coast. This is a tourist country, with wonderful countryside. Were they obtrusive? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I quite liked ‘em.

But the solar parks are really impressive. Huge dual axis trackers keep the solar panels directly facing the sun, and each 100K park consists of about 14 of these units on a 2 acre site. With little wear and tear, these will continue quietly producing power for between 25 and 40 years.

But 44 cents per Kw H? Well, there is a catch - the price is indexed at half the rate of inflation, so this falls in real terms over time. The upside is that the scheme has resulted in a lot of innovation, and this is making Spain a centre of excellence in solar photovoltaic development.

If 1% of your power comes onto the grid at 44 cents, per unit, it pushes the average price of electricity up by about 3.8%. Is that a high price to pay if it funds innovation? Could we stomach something like this to promote the development of wave / tidal power in Ireland?