Image captured by Nasa’s Earth Observatory satellites last month

In a patchwork of agricultural fields outside Seville, Spain, two towers rise above the plain (at the centre of the top of the image). Nearby arrays of mirrors reflect light onto the towers, illuminating the water vapor and dust suspended in the air and creating visible beams. Within the towers, the thermal energy from the concentrated light creates steam, and the steam powers turbines to generate electricity. Known as PS10 and PS20, the mirror-tower networks are part of a larger project intended to meet the energy needs of some 180,000 homes roughly the energy needs of Seville by 2013, without greenhouse gas emissions

The Guardian

The Guardian claims that concentrated solar power, a field in which Spain leads the way, could generate “quarter of world’s energy”.

Read in the Guardian

“Spain is leading the field on CSP: more than 50 solar projects in the country have been approved for construction by the government and, by 2015, it will generate more than 2GW of power from CSP, comfortably exceeding current national targets. Spanish companies are also exporting their technology around the world.”

• The Guardian
• Spanish wind power record
• Las renovables supera su objetivo de producir el 30% de la electricidad (WWF)

• Read

And on the topic of wind energy, the largest onshore wind farm in Europe started producing power yesterday today in northern Portugal. The farm is to provide enough electricity for up to a million people. A total of 120 windmills are dotted across the highlands of the Upper Minho region of Portugal which continues to forge its reputation as a renewables champion.
The Guardian

“Spanish firms are charging ahead with CSP: more than 50 solar projects around Spain have been approved for construction by the government and, by 2015, the country will generate more than 2GW of power from CSP, comfortably exceeding current national targets. The companies are also exporting their technology to Morocco, Algeria and the US. “CSP is at the very beginning of a big boom,” said José Luis García, at Greenpeace in Spain. “Spain is in a good position to develop and implement the technology. We have the sun so we are in the best position to lead in this field.”
Read in the Guardian

SEO note

• “This will suppose the direct occupation of more than 300 hectares of land, directly on the principal winter roost of the common crane in Europe, with 11,325 cranes registered there last year.
• Those two solar power plants also include a natural gas combustion unit each, to maintain the energy production during cloudy days, which will suppose the installation of both tall chimneys for the evacuation of waste gases and of cooling towers.
• In order to be able to use the energy produced, both power stations will share an electrical substation and a new high voltage power line more than 38 km in lengh, to connect with the grid at Valdecaballeros, and which will affect the entire Vegas Altas del Guadiana zone, including two SPAs.

Martin kelsey of Birding Extremadura has brought this to the attention of iberianature so thanks to him, and he has drafted the following series of letters for you to get in contact with the authorities in Extremadura. Revenue from birding tourism now represents quite a fair of amount for Extremadura and the more people that contest this, the more the Extremaduran authorities are likely to rethink such a poorly planned scheme.

“it is very important that this message gets to as many people as possible who have had the opportunity to enjoy watching birds at the site known as Casas del Hito, in the ricefields of Extremadura, close to the town of Madrigalejo.

This wonderful area is threatened by a huge solar thermal generation plant, where heat from solar panels will be used to generate electricity, involving major infrastructure including cooling towers, gas combustion and high tension power lines. There are many other more suitable sites for such development, where the sunshine is the same, but where the impact on wildlife will be much less.

Those of you who have visited Casas del Hito in winter will have seen one ofthe finest bird spectacles in Europe: last winter’s roost of cranes totalled more than 11,300 birds (that’s 5% of the Western European population and the second largest winter roost in Spain). It has a large harrier roost and winter flocks of Little Bustard. In passage, I have recorded 27 wader species (a remarkable total for an inland site in central Spain), and it is a regular stopover for Glossy Ibis.
Breeding birds include Black-winged Kite (I have recorded 20 species of raptor there) and Extremadura’s first Kentish Plovers.

It is without doubt one of Extremadura’s top sites both for conservation as well as birdwatching.
The decision to go approve the plan will be made by the Consejería de Industria,Energía y Medio Ambiente (Council for Industry, Energy and the Environment) of the government of Extremadura. I attach examples of letters that can be sent to…

• The head of the Extremadura government (Presidente de la Junta de Extremadura),

• The Counsellor for Industry, Energy and Environment.

There is also an example of a letter that can be sent to the Counsellor for Culture and Tourism
which emphasises the birding tourism value of this site.

These letters are examples, and you can modify them as you wish. Some of you I know have got some wonderful photos of birds from Casas del Hito, and they couldeven be included.

If you want to support this campaign, please send these letters as soon as possible. They can either be mailed (each letter has the address) or sent by email using the email addresses below.

• Presidente de la Junta de Extremadura: presidente@prs.juntaex.es

• Consejero de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambiente: consejero.iema@juntaextremadura.net

• Consejera de Cultura y Turismo: consejera.cyt@juntaextremadura.net

Your support will demonstrate international concern for the future of conservation in Extremadura and is very important.=

EXAMPLE ONE

D. José Luis Navarro Ribera
Consejero de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambiente
Junta de Extremadura
Paseo de Roma, s/n
06800 Mérida (Badajoz)
Spain

Dear Sr. Navarro:

The purpose of this letter is to express my profound concern for the future of one of the most important sites for migratory and wintering birds in Extremadura: the area around the Sierra Brava reservoir and the estate known as Casas del Hito, in the municipality of Madrigalejo in the province of Cáceres.

I have recently learnt that permission has been requested for the construction of two solar thermal power plants, each of 50 hectares area, in adjacent plots, situated in the Casas del Hito estate, with an electricity substation and a high-tension pylon line of up to 47 kms. All of this will seriously affect the two Special Protection Areas for birds in the area: “Llanos de Zorita y Embalse de Sierra Brava” and “Vegas del Ruecas, Cubilar y Moheda Alta”.

These areas, now under treat by this proposal, represent one of the most important zones for birds in Extremadura, attracting numerous visitors from all over the World, coming to watch birds there. There are few places where this sort of development could cause so much damage. It would be unforgiveable for this to proceed when there are available many hundreds of more suitable sites, each receiving the same amount of sunlight.

Given my personal knowledge of this site, I consider its ornithological importance to be very seriously under treat and I wish to register my opposition to the construction of these solar thermal power plants. I urge you to take into account the outstanding ornithological and conservation value of this area and that the Consejería de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambiente does not approve the proposal for these power plants.

Yours sincerely,

Copia al Excmo. Sr. Presidente de la Junta de Extremadura
Copia a la Consejería de Cultura y Turismo

EXAMPLE TWO

Dña. Leonor Flores Rabazo
Consejera de Cultura y Turismo
Junta de Extremadura
C/ Almendralejo, 14
06800 Mérida (Badajoz)
Spain

Dear Sra. Flores:

The purpose of this letter is to express my profound concern for the future of one of the most important sites for migratory and wintering birds in Extremadura: the area around the Sierra Brava reservoir and the estate known as Casas del Hito, in the municipality of Madrigalejo in the province of Cáceres.

I have recently learnt that permission has been requested for the construction of two solar thermal power plants, each of 50 hectares area, in adjacent plots, situated in the Casas del Hito estate, with an electricity substation and a high-tension pylon line of up to 47 kms. All of this will seriously affect the two Special Protection Areas for birds in the area: “Llanos de Zorita y Embalse de Sierra Brava” and “Vegas del Ruecas, Cubilar y Moheda Alta”.

These areas, now under treat by this proposal, represent one of the most important zones for bird tourism in Extremadura, attracting numerous visitors from all over the World, coming to watch birds there. There are few places where this sort of development could cause so much damage. It would be unforgiveable for this to proceed when there are available many hundreds of more suitable sites, each receiving the same amount of sunlight.

Given my personal knowledge of this site, I consider its ornithological importance to be very seriously under treat and I wish to register my opposition to the construction of these solar thermal power plants. I urge you to take into account the outstanding value of this area for bird tourism and that the Consejería de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambiente does not approve the proposal for these power plants.

Yours sincerely

Copia al Excmo. Sr. Presidente de la Junta de Extremadura
Copia a la Consejería de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambiente

EXAMPLE THREE

Excmo. Sr. D. Guillermo Fernández Vara
Presidente de la Junta de Extremadura
Plaza del Rastro, s/n
06800 Mérida (Badajoz)
Spain

Dear Sr. Fernández Vara:

The purpose of this letter is to express my profound concern for the future of one of the most important sites for migratory and wintering birds in Extremadura: the area around the Sierra Brava reservoir and the estate known as Casas del Hito, in the municipality of Madrigalejo in the province of Cáceres.

I have recently learnt that permission has been requested for the construction of two solar thermal power plants, each of 50 hectares area, in adjacent plots, situated in the Casas del Hito estate, with an electricity substation and a high-tension pylon line of up to 47 kms. All of this will seriously affect the two Special Protection Areas for birds in the area: “Llanos de Zorita y Embalse de Sierra Brava” and “Vegas del Ruecas, Cubilar y Moheda Alta”.

These areas, now under treat by this proposal, represent one of the most important zones for bird tourism in Extremadura, attracting numerous visitors from all over the World, coming to watch birds there. There are few places where this sort of development could cause so much damage. It would be unforgiveable for this to proceed when there are available many hundreds of more suitable sites, each receiving the same amount of sunlight.

Given my personal knowledge of this site, I consider its ornithological importance to be very seriously under treat and I wish to register my opposition to the construction of these solar thermal power plants. I urge you to take into account the outstanding environmental value of this area and its importance for bird tourism and that the Consejería de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambiente does not approve the proposal for these power plants.

Yours sincerely

Copia a la Consejería de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambiente
Copia a la Consejería de Cultura y Turismo

The Pelamis wave farm has just been officially launched after a delay of more than a year. Pelamis takes its name from an ancient word for sea snake, as the machines could be described as giant metal snakes floating in the water. At full production they will be able to generate enough power for 1,500 homes, with 25 more machines set to be installed in Portugal.

• Read on BBC
• Follow the forum thread here
• Wave snakes’ switch on to harness ocean’s power(The Guardian)

“In addition to this flagship wave power, the Portuguese are investing heavily in other renewable technologies. They are already spending £250m on more than 2,500 solar photovoltaic panels to build the world’s largest solar farm near the small town of Moura in eastern Portugal. It will have twice the collecting area of London’s Hyde Park and supply 45MW of electricity each year, enough to power 30,000 homes. In the past three years, the country has also trebled its hydroelectric capacity and quadrupled its wind power sources – northern Portugal has the world’s biggest wind farm with more than 130 turbines and a factory that builds the 40m-long blades. Pinho wants Portugal to rival Denmark or Japan in its commitment to developing renewables industries – he predicts his country will generate 31% of all its primary energy from clean sources by 2020, compared with Britain’s target of 15%. The Portuguese target means increasing the generation of electricity from renewable sources from 42% in 2005 to 60% in 2020.”

One of Spain’s last untouched landscapes, the Sierra de Gata in north-western Extremadura, may shortly be inundated with up to 19 wind farms. The Times
And this piece by Steve West on his very nicely designed Birding in Spain site. “Should the inhabitants of Terra Alta, Montsià and Matarranya, with the great natural and scenic wealth of Els Ports, the serres of Pàndols and Cavalls, the wonderful via verda, the rivers Matarranya, Estrets, Algars (the cleanest in the Mediterranean basin)…should they let it all go and allow the hills to be plastered with wind turbines? ” Birding and sustainable tourism versus windfarms
This topic is also currently being hotly debated on the forum here. Renewable Energy, but at any price?

The San Feliz windpark will have to wait. The heavy machinery belonging to the company Producciones Energéticas del Bierzo entered the León side of the Cantabrian Mountains in order to “pave the way” for the wind turbines. They don’t care that the area is one of the few remaining in which the Capercaillie still breeds. The alarm raised by the researchers specialising in this endangered species – there’s even a ringed female that they are monitoring on a daily basis – led the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO) to request the courts to halt the works as an emergency measure. And even though judges are reluctant to take such steps, León’s Court No. 1 for Contentious Administrative Proceedings ruled that the works were to be halted. In his ruling, the judge stated that “the required urgency is crystal-clear”.
News originally found in El País and translated by Technopat on Iberianature forum.