MADRID (AFP) - A small island in the Canary archipelago, El Hierro, will become the first island in the world to be powered 100% by renewable energy, the Spanish government said on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Industry has announced that El Hierro, a 278 km2 volcanic island populated by 10.500 inhabitants, will be supplied entirely with electricity by a combination of wind turbines and hydroelectricity.
"El Hierro will be the first island in the world powered 100% by renewable energies," he said in a statement.
The system put in place will include a hydroelectric plant powered by two reservoirs, a wind farm and a pumping system.
"Most of the energy injected into the distribution network will come from the hydroelectric power station," with a capacity of 10 MW, the statement said.
"The majority of the energy produced by the wind turbines will be used to power the pumping system" to store water in one of the two reservoirs, "in the form of potential energy," he adds.
The excess wind energy will be used to supply two seawater desalination plants.
A conventional, pre-existing diesel-powered plant will be maintained for emergencies in the event of lack of water and wind.
"With this system, we are able to transform an intermittent source of energy into a controlled and constant supply of electricity," said the ministry.
The system will represent an investment of 54,3 million euros, spread out until 2009, and will avoid the emission of the 18.700 tonnes of CO2 per year currently released by the local thermal power plant.
Spain is one of the European leaders in wind energy. It recorded its wind power production record on Monday: the strong winds that blew across the country enabled the mills to supply 27% of the country's electrical demand.
source: Yahoo news
Like what, contrary to what their critics say, it is possible to smooth the production of renewable energies and adapt it to demand !!!