Amidst the global concern for climate change, ozone depletion and rising pollution level, the autonomous region of Navarre in Spain, shows the way to come over the problem. The innovative measure taken by the people there to produce renewable and clean energy from the sources like wind, water and the solar rays.
Bordering France, Navarre leads the way in the production of electricity from renewable sources. The Government of the region is increasingly sponsoring small solar photovoltaic plants, windmills and petite hydropower stations. Navarre gets around 70% of its energy need from renewable sources and is trying to reach at 75% level by 2010.
Once known for bull running and gem lettuce, the region has now acquired a name across the globe. The Government of Navarre has high hopes of becoming a net exporter of clean energy. This outstanding achievement has created international interest worldwide. Delegations from Britain, Ireland, Tasmania, and many more regions have already visited Navarre to know more about its renewable energy projects.
The world is debating on to meet increasing demand for electricity as well as to cut green house gas emissions. They need to learn from the experiences of people of Navarre. The six-lakh population there mostly depends on clean energy, but in case of any obstacle, they draw from Spanish national grid operating gas, coal and nuclear power stations. But mostly sun and wind are happy to be in Navarre.
The industry minister of the regional Government said,
I think the model we have here in Navarre – a decisive bet on renewable energy – is perfectly transferable to the level of a country.
Navarre has 1,100 windmills in its over 10,000sq km area. More than 55 per cent of its energy comes from wind power alone. The region is also trying its best to develop other renewable sources like photovoltaic solar farms, biomass plants, and sun-thermal plants. Small hydroelectric plants on rivers, co-generation industrial units to recover energy from wastage and biofuel plants extracting diesel from vegetable oils are in the pipeline.
However, environmentalists are wary of presence of large windmills spoiling the landscape and killing birds. But, organizations like Greenpeace have come out in support. Even the local population seems to be happy with the Government initiative and increasingly participating in awareness campaigns about renewable sources of energy.
Hope the world will get inspiration from Navarre’s inspiration.
Via:Timesonline
