15 Feb 2017 12:52 AM:

Mind you Derek, given the fun-and-games Poedoe described in his last post it's no surprise that people decide to take matters into their own hands.

Thread: Solar energy

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12 Feb 2017 6:13 PM:

Yes, Tesla battery technology; that was what I read recently but could not recall the details. 

I was rather hoping that Spain would have moved forward by now and ditched some of the old cultural habits, but looking at some of these threads makes me think otherwise, unfortunately.

Thread: Solar energy

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11 Feb 2017 4:28 PM:

Tony, that's one of the problems I have with all this, though. National energy production in Spain is liberalised, isn't it? Majority ownership of Endesa is by Enel, in Italy. I could entirely understand it if govt were trying to protect a state enterprise during a transitional period, and I can equally understand a certain level of protectionism for private enterprise that may also be providing investment in infrastructure for national distribution (if that's the case). But some of the original policy intent seemed to be formulated to benefit private sector interests at the cost of public citizens. The intent behind the original policy proposals is what I'm suspicious of and that is what has rattled my cage. 

Thread: Solar energy

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11 Feb 2017 2:19 PM:

Gary/Poedoe, yes I entirely agree. I think maybe the problem is that in terms of Renewables, governments/agencies everywhere are scrabbling to get their heads around it with regard to policy. I can understand that, but it still leaves a sour taste. Even here in the UK, there have been numerous changes in terms of subsidies/no subsidies and feed-in-tariff rates, etc. Some people who made original investments may now be regretting it. Indeed, there are some new problems emerging which I don't think anyone foresaw: -

Britain will have too much electricity this summer due to the growth in wind and solar farms, National Grid has forecast, warning it could be forced to issue unprecedented emergency orders to power plants to switch off.

Businesses will also be paid to shift their power demand to times when there is surplus electricity, as the UK energy system struggles to cope with the huge expansion in subsidised renewable power.

National Grid, which is responsible for balancing Britain’s power supply and demand, warned that operating the system at times of low demand was “becoming increasingly challenging”, in part due to the growth of “intermittent power capacity” such as wind and solar farms. (Telegraph, Apr 2016, Emily Gosden).

That problem is repeated in many other markets, globally. It would seem that the next major area for development in renewables is not the production itself, rather than the means of storage via next generation batteries. At least we're heading in the right direction.

Portugal has hit a significant milestone in its bid to become entirely reliant on renewable energy sources after running for 107 hours without using any fossil fuels. 

From 6.45am on Saturday 7 May until 5.45pm on Wednesday 11 May [2016] the country used sustainable electricity alone.

Portugal, which previously relied heavily on coal and natural gas, has made a considerable effort to increase its use of solar, wind and hydro power in recent years.

Of course, none of this really has anything to do with Mariano's mob deciding to try and tax the conversion of free sunshine into free energy for private use, but I'd love to see what the ECJ made of it if an individual challenged the Spanish govt on a legal basis in the event.

Thread: Solar energy

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09 Feb 2017 3:52 PM:

Thanks for the replies, folks. My searching also only turned up details from early/mid 2016 and I guess the election circus last year was kicking issues like this into the long grass. It's a real shame in a way because Spain has been streets ahead in Europe with development of solar-renewable, both at domestic and national levels.

I'm sure they have reasons that extend beyond the perennial attitudes that persist there, and I'm guessing that one of the major issues will be protection of Endesa, et al., which I really can understand, but some of the [permissable] new-builds would never have the option of connecting to the grid based on proximity and as such the production/consumption is entirely private. It's like saying you can be taxed for the air that you breath! Is there any tax on water drawn from boreholes tapping into the local water table?, because that would at least make some kind of sense.

Ten years ago, Portugal's transmission lines were also owned by private power companies that had no interest in investing in renewables because using the technology would have meant radical changes in the grid infrastructure, increasing costs to industry.

To get around this, the government bought the lines, and began adapting the grid, including more flexibility and better connections in remote areas to allow the production and distribution of electricity from small generators, such as domestic solar panels. There was also a combination of admirable incentives, including the introduction of feed-in tariffs... (2010 article in The Guardian by Syma Tariq)

Cannot find anything specifically related to energy-generation tax in Portugal currently, but they may have their own brand of lunacy coming into effect soon: -

According to Law Decree 41 of 2016, published last week, a good view and a south-facing house could see homeowners face substantial increases in their council tax bills, the English-language Portugal News reports. Homes with nice views and which maximise solar exposure could be subject to an increase in council tax rates of up to 20%. (Dan Buckley, The Irish Examiner, Oct 2016).

Marvellous...

Thread: Solar energy

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