Spain Looks to Once Again go All Out on Solar Power

Spain Looks to Once Again go All Out on Solar Power 

Solar power is becoming popular again, thanks to a change in policy

Nothing boosts the economy in Spain quite like the sunshine that goes strong for upwards of 320 days out of the year. Whether it’s the tourists looking for fun in the sun or the olive groves, the sunny climate of Spain make it a top holiday destination, one of the leading producers of wine, olives, fruits, and vegetables, and even a stunning backdrop for major Hollywood blockbusters and TV programs like Game of Thrones. 

There is one thing that the sunshine hasn’t delivered for a while though, and that’s reliable solar power. Spain became a world leader for solar power between 2008 and 2010, with sweeping transformations that turned practically the whole country into a vast solar farm pumping free and clean energy straight to the Spanish power grid. 

It was a matter of time before homeowners wanted to get in on the action, and the government supported it at first by offering homeowners who installed solar panels some generous rates; essentially paying for people to generate their own solar power and feed it into the grid. 

But the solar boom of Spain, much like the property boom, grew at too rapid a pace. The government quickly came to realise that their generosity could have damaging repercussions. As more people switched to solar power, the government ran out of money to support their solar policy. The new government of 2012 started looking at ways to take back some of the money that had been spent on solar power, and introduced a controversial “sun tax”; charging people for exporting their excess power back to the grid. 

The future of solar power in Spain went from bright to overcast in a single move. Things stayed like this until recently this year when the government – perhaps feeling bolder after securing a second term and boosting the economy – decided to auction renewable energy. The premise of these auctions would be supporting renewable energy projects based on the best offers made by companies when possible. 

Wind power was the initial winner of these schemes, but the latest government-backed auction from this week saw solar power win pretty big and win the right to develop 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of brand new solar projects. This equates to around two-thirds of the current installed capacity, and the projects should be finished by 2020. 

There are plenty of benefits to this including helping Spainto meet carbon emission reduction targets, improving air quality and reducingpollution, and lowering the energy bills of consumers.

Time is Running Out to Trade Pesetas for Euros

Time is Running Out to Trade Pesetas for Euros

€1.641 billion worth of pesetas are still out there

It might not feel like it’s been this long, but it was back on January 1^st 2002 – over 15 years ago – when Spain switched from pesetas (which dated back to 1869) to euros. Even though the peseta was no longer considered legal tender just a few short months afterwards, there are still millions of them to be found across Spanish households.  Perhaps they are being saved for a rainy day, or out of a sense of nostalgia.

From 1^st July, 2002, pesetas could only be traded for euros with the Banco de España (Bank of Spain). However, many people weren’t so keen to get rid of the retired currency, affectionately known as “La Rubia” – the blonde. The peseta was held on to by so many people that, some five or six years ago, a rural village in Spain fell on such hard times that the peseta was re-introduced to boost the local economy.

That was then though, and this is now. The clock is now ticking on the peseta. If you still haven’t traded your pesetas for euros then you should get a move on, as the Banco de España will stop exchanging them as of the 31^st of December, 2020.

The Banco de España say that some €1.641 billion worth of pesetas is still flowing through the country – breaking down to €842 million in notes and €799 million in coins – which is over 273 billion pesetas. The bank estimates that 45% is either still in the hands of Spanish residents, or it belongs to those who visited the country before 2002.

Spain’s Blue “Wine” to Have Name Changed Following Fall Out with Wine Lobby

Spain’s Blue “Wine” to Have Name Changed Following Fall Out with Wine Lobby

Blue wine is having a name change

The idea that wine is wine, whether it’s red, white, or pink, has been proven wrong. Or at least kind of wrong. Five young Spanish entrepreneurs launched Gik last year. Gik is a blue wine made from Spanish grapes infused with anthyocyacin. This natural pigment of grape skin combines with natural dye from the woad plant to form an electric blue colour.

Traditionalists originally dismissed Gik as a marketing gimmick, but it was still able to sell over 100,000 bottles across 25 countries; proving to be a hit with hipsters and dilettantes.

Cue the Spanish wine lobby who insist on being spoilsports. They want to curb the success of Gik by declaring that Gik isn’t wine, and should not marketed or sold as wine.

The official regulations hold no category for blue wine in the 17 listed wine products for Spain. This list can be found in the Annex VII part II of Regulation 1308/2013. As such, there’s no way for officials to categorise Gik as a wine. They insist that it be marketed as something else. They even coined the category “99% wine and 1% grape must”.

The producers of Gik are not happy about the decision of course. They spoke to the Local and said that drinking Gik is about more than drinking blue wine. It’s about drinking innovation and creating your own rules and traditions.

They did at least concede that every revolution comes with a counter-revolution; which is a great way to sum up how everything has gone for Gik since it first drew the attention of wine inspectors last summer.

If time has taught us anything, however, it’s that Gik is likely to benefit from the controversy and the publicity. It will take Gik from being a gimmick wine to being the driving force behind a brand-new category of drinks. It’s now more likely that the “not-quite-wine” market explodes with similar drinks as demand grows and celebrated at festivals and events in Spain.

Brits In Spain Need to Speak Out Soon or Miss Their Chance With EU Referendum Vote

Brits In Spain Need to Speak Out Soon or Miss Their Chance With EU Referendum Vote

The numbers may be shocking but it’s worth taking another look at them. There are currently just 283,000 Brits officially registered as a Spanish resident with the padrón. This number is small because it’s only around one quarter of the actual Brits living in Spain. Of this number only 11,000 of them are still registered to vote in the UK.

These are statistics that should worry every Brit with an interest in politics outside of the motherland. It doesn’t matter if they are in Germany, Spain, France or anywhere else in the European Union. They need to correct this oversight.

Brits in Spain need to register their vote

David Cameron recently told the European Commission his plans to renew the terms of the UK’s membership of the EU. He set out a series of reforms, proposals and promises that he would offer British people to entice them to stay in the EU. The vote will still be left to the British people though and a referendum vote could happen as early as June.

Nobody is quite sure what the so-called “Brexit” would do for the EU or Britain itself. There is one thing for sure though. If the British leave the EU then it makes things difficult for the millions of Brits who are already outside of the UK and living elsewhere in the EU.

This is why the British emabassies in Spain and France have launched awareness campaigns to get Brits living there to go and register to vote in the referendum. It’s called the Your Vote Matters campaign and, given how much they will be affected, it’s hard to argue with the name.

Foreign Office Data suggests that only 5% of overseas voters have registered to be involved in the referendum. Other embassies, such as those in Germany, Ireland, Poland, Austria and Denmark are getting involved and using social media to further the awareness campaign.

The British Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, met with a community of expats living on the Costa del Sol to show his support for the campaign.

He said that even though expats are interested in the referendum not enough of them are really aware of it. He urged the expats to become more aware about the referendum and how they can get involved. They can register to vote through the government website (www.gov.uk) and you should encourage other people you know to do the same.

Brits who have been abroad for less than 15 years are able to vote through the constituency they used to live. It is pretty simple to register from overseas but it can take longer than most people realise.

This is why expats with properties inland Spain and elsewhere are being encouraged to visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. They should have their passport with them and their previous UK postcode ready to speed up the process.

Spanish Holidays not Likely to Sell Out Despite Claims from Media

Spanish Holidays not Likely to Sell Out Despite Claims from Media

Costa del Sol is looking for another record breaking year

The British press are infamous for scare-mongering but every so often something comes along that people can’t help but believe because they’re so astonished by it.

This time the Daily Star was at the centre of the problem with their headlines about how apparently Spanish holidays are sold out after more people than ever booked a holiday.

Now it is true that Spain is seeing more holiday bookings and it’s also true that this is because British holidaymakers are going to Spain because more classic locations, such as Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt and Greece are becoming more unstable.

However it’s moronic to suggest that Spain could actually sell out and be unable to welcome any new tourists as part of the Easter holidays. Spain is great at bringing in millions more people in one go. They’ve always been good at handling the Easter surge as parts of the country are filled with Spanish tourists as well as European ones.

Hotels manage, roads manage, airports manage, and tour operators manage. Everything carries on. The only thing you’re likely to see is a small rise in prices during the really busy weeks. This is just how business works. Add in the extra space offered by services like AirBNB and private rentals and there’s really no truth behind the idea that a Spanish tourist shouldn’t be able to find a place in the sun.

The Daily Star managed to scare people even more by suggesting there was no more room on flights. They even had a RyanAir spokesperson suggest that they might potentially run out of seats. Do you really expect a company like RyanAir to actually say they have run out of seats and are not flying any more though?

The idea that there would be no more flights to Spain is ludicrous. There are plenty of good reasons that Spain is the top tourist destination. They have sun, sea, and a great lifestyle everyone enjoys. The reason that it’s stayed number one is because of how well it handles all these tourists. Spain may be busy but they always let anyone, no matter their age or background, come and find a piece of paradise.

It may get expensive to stay in Spain in the peak months but you’ll always find great value for money, security, convenience, great Beaches, peace of mind and you’ll be sure to find a lovely place in the sun. Spanish-Holidays-will-Sell-Out-2016