Placa Fotovoltaica del Forum: Ashley Crosby-May 19

On Thursday we had the pleasure of talking to Llorenç , an industrial engineer from TERSA under the Photovoltaic Pergola. This was built in 2004 by Elias Torres. Even though Spain is "the country of the sun", they are not as reliant on solar power as expected. He started out with an emotional Spanish story about when individuals first started producing their own solar power it was benefiting them and their neighbors, but they were not able to sell it back and they had to pay a tax to have it. He used the analogy "It's like growing your own tomatoes and having to pay to eat them." The banks started to take over and the government wanted to make it illegal to create your own power because electric companies were starting to lose business. Starting in 2007 the government started to make different laws and change them every few years about changing subsides, and it almost seemed as if the laws were changing for the worst.

Photovoltaic Pergola

There are six main plants in Barcelona, most are located centrally, but a few are on the outskirts of Barcelona like the one we saw today. The plant we saw in the distance from the Photovoltaic Pergola was a thermal garbage plant, which means that all of Barcelona's trash goes to this plant to be burned and turned into power. The law does require certain amounts of installations in buildings of solar power, but it is turned off at night. Even though Spain does not want to rely on solar power and want to keep the electric lobbies in control, the Photovoltaic Pergola has proven to be resilient. They are using the sun power they are given naturally and providing thousands of people with multiple ways of energy without using any nuclear power. Even though the sun is not guaranteed to shine right on the solar panels every single day, the power is stored and more can be used when there is not as much sunlight as expected.

Llorenç & Suzanne

Unlike in the USA, where we are looking to start using more solar power and less nuclear power, Spanish government is is trying to keep the electric lobby in charge and do not want individuals creating their own power. We noticed even with this Photovolatic Pergola, it was clearly built for aesthetics only and maintenance was not a thought. If a solar panel were to break of stop working, a special crane would have to come in to be able to access the panels since there is no way to get up there.

View of the panels located on the Photovoltaic Pergola

Overall we had a wonderful time enjoying the views of the Sea and the Photovoltaic Pergola and really enjoyed talking to Llorenç and appreciate the tours he gave us along with his time!