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100 hectares of 120,000 solar panels in Jumilla, Murcia, producing energy for 20,000 homes!
The Industry Minister, Joan Clos, has opened the largest photovoltaic energy plant in Europe, covering an area of 100 hectares in La Hoya de Vicentes, Jumilla, where the Mayor says 300 days of sun a year are guaranteed. Total annual production will be the equivalent of the energy used by 20,000 homes. The Mayor of Jumilla, Francisco Abellán, has described it as the most important energy project in the Murcia Region, and one of the most important in Spain.
The Minister gave some figures on renewable energy produced in the country, saying that it currently accounts for around 7% of the total primary energy produced, and will reach 10% in 2010 if biomass production is added onto the energy produced by solar and wind farms. Spain will be able to reach the European Union’s target of a 20% share by 2020, he said.
It took a team of 400 people 11 months to build the plant, where 120,000 solar panels are grouped in to 200 separate photovoltaic arrays to convert light from the sun into electricity. It’s expected to generate an annual income of 19,000,000€, and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 42,000 tons a year.
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