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.

Marbella Showcases the World’s First Revolving Solar Homes.

When you get right down to it the entire world is solar-powered. Everything on Earth draws some energy from the sun. Everything that has ever existed, from rocks to oceans, to forests, to the industrial revolution, and even the Beatles and Benedict Cumberbatch, they all owe their existence to the Sun.

Marbella solar homes for sale

Today when you think about solar power you think about solar panels. The Spanish government has proven to be infuriatingly regressive on the issue of solar power. They even introduced a sun Tax in Spain that punishes people who choose to install solar panels on their roofs.

A Marbella based company has come up with an idea to solve this problem though and help people get around this “sun tax” while still enjoying the benefits of clean and powerful solar energy.

The company is Sunhouse360° and their home literally rotates every 15 minutes to give each room the maximum amount of sunlight throughout the day.

Property for sale in Andalucía and all of southern Spain sees so much sunlight that this kind of creation can reduce energy bills by up to 70%, at least according to the company. This is because of the floor-to-ceiling windows that cover the entire home, and an interior layout designed to let in as much sunlight as possible.

Home owners can choose from different sized properties and can also have photovoltaic panels installed on to the home as well. This will combine the thermal energy of the sun with regular solar photovoltaic powered electricity.

The houses for sale in Costa de sol have a understandably high price of £753,000 (+IVA) at first, but this will get you a 250 square metre property that won’t cost nearly as much to run and maintain.

How often, and how quickly, the house rotates has been programmed to make sure that the home owners don’t even feel the rotation. Sunhouse360° have also said the homes should be programmable to let owners set a rotation frequency that suits them.

Sunhouse360° believe that having sunlight in the home is very beneficial and that it is possible to change so that the light reaches the entire house. Or, if you wanted to, it can be programmed so that light I always in the kitchen.

The idea for the home was first developed over two years ago and it is believed that the homes will be available in early 2016.

The Costa del Sol homes for sale are also programmed with “eco rotation” software. This software will detect which parts of the house are the coolest and bring it into the sunlight. It is designed for when the homes reach more northern climates but is still effective in the southern areas, where it turns the warmer areas of the house away from the sun to keep the whole property cool.

The Sunhouse360° makes use of virtually everything that makes property for sale in Marbella and the area such a great tourist destination; innovation, sunlight, and property. It’s going to be interesting to watch as these Costa del Sol homes for sale pop up all across southern Spain.

The future looks bright for the Costa del Sol property market.