No matter where you are in the world, solar power can be harnessed for clean, fossil-fuel free energy.
On the island of Tenerife (the largest of the Canary Islands), a utility scale solar facility draws on the sunshine from this area known as “Eternal Spring,” off the western coast of Africa. Even though its a territory of Spain, the 7-island Canary Islands archipelago is located about 100 km from Morocco and Western Sahara.
Sunshine is abundant in this area of the world, which makes installing solar panels a smart idea for clean energy generation.
As shown to the left, this image of the southeastern part of the island illustrates a diamond-shaped artificial structure at the foot of Mt. Pelada, about 5 kilometers east from the airport, which includes is solar panels to generate electricity. At this site, there are several groups of solar panels and wind turbines which together produce renewable energy.
You might wonder why Tenerife for solar power generation?
Actually, Spain and Germany are the European leaders for solar energy in this area of the world.
The solar power generation plant in Tenerife was constructed in 2008 by a Japanese company. Its a utility scale solar plant with the ability to generate 12.6 megawatts (MW) of electricity each year for the next 25 years. Every 12 months this solar power plant will produce 7,200 tons less CO2 than a thermal power plant.
Bottom line – go Spain, and go Tenerife when it comes to solar power! What a great example of how sunny tourist destinations can host more than hotels….
Tags: canary islands, solar energy, solar power generation, solar power plant, solar spain, solar tenerife, tenerife, utility scale solar
