RENEWABLE ENERGY
A web article
The light from the solar power plant at
FUN Sanlucar la Mayor is so intense that it lights
1 Work in pairs. Which types of FACT up dust and water vapour in the air.
energy can you see in the photos?
How do you think Andalusia
is involved in producing clean 3 Read the article again. Answer the questions.
energy? 1 Why is Andalusia a good place to produce renewable energy?
2 Why are people worried about birds in Tarifa?
2 Read the article from a science
3 What do the volunteers do?
website. Check your ideas in
Exercise 1. 4 Why was the Plataforma Solar de Almería started?
5 What is special about the solar power plant at Sanlúcar la Mayor?
6 What do the heliostats do?
Andalusia is an important region
for renewable energy. With its
long coastlines and sunshine, it
is an ideal place to research and
generate wind and solar power.
Wind energy
Andalusia now gets 50 percent of its renewable energy from wind energy.
The strong winds along the coasts and inland, especially in Cadiz, Malaga
and southern Almeria, are perfect for wind farms. There are over 150, with
thousands of wind turbines. Although clean energy is produced, some people
worry about the danger to birds. Every year, 30 million birds fly across the
Straits of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa, including rare and protected
species. So a project to protect migrating birds was started on two wind
farms near Tarifa, in Cadiz. Volunteers watch day and night for birds flying
over the wind farms. When they see birds coming, they contact the control
centre, and the wind turbines are stopped until the birds have gone. This
system is very successful.
14 R ENE WA B L E ENER GY
Present passive; Past passive
Present simple passive Past simple passive
Enough electricity is produced here for all the A solar research station was created in the Tabernas
+
needs of the city of Seville. Desert.
Renewable energy isn’t produced in enough
– A thermoelectric power plant wasn’t built until 2007.
countries.
4 Read the article again. Find the numbers 5 Voice it! Work in a small group.
below in the article and explain what they refer to. Ask and answer the questions. Use phrases
from the Useful language box to help you.
1 50 percent 3 30 million 5 624
2 150 4 3,000 6 2007 I think we should use more
renewable energy in Spain.
Governments should help
people produce solar energy.
1 What other forms of renewable energy do
you know?
2 Can you suggest ways that society can
produce more renewable energy in the
future? Think about: national government,
local government, public behaviour, laws.
Useful language
Solar energy I think … should … I don’t like the way …
I believe … People ought to …
Almeria has 3,000 hours of sunlight a year. In the early
1980s, a solar research station, the Plataforma Solar
de Almería, was created in the Tabernas Desert to
test the possibilities of solar energy. Because of the
research in Almeria, a thermoelectric power plant was
Explore it!
built at Sanlucar la Mayor, near Seville. It was the first Guess the correct answer.
commercial ‘solar power tower’ system in the world.
The percentage of renewable
It has enormous fields of solar panels, or heliostats.
electricity produced in Spain is …
The 624 heliostats have mirrors which move with the
sun and direct heat onto a 115-metre-tall tower, which
a less than 20 percent
generates the electricity. Since opening in 2007, it b more than 50 percent
has expanded and now, enough electricity is produced c between 20 percent and 50 percent.
here for all the needs of the city of Seville. Find an interesting fact about
renewable energy. Then write a question
GLOSSARY for your partner to answer.
renewable – renovable
inland – interior (país)
wind turbines – generadores eólicos
R ENE WA B L E ENER GY 15
