Solar panels on graves give power to Spanish town

November 23, 2008 By DANIEL WOOLLS , Associated Press Writer

Enlarge

Solar panels sit on top of niches at the Santa Coloma de Gramenet cemetery, outside Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. The city council has installed 462 solar panels on top of the grave niches. The energy they produce, equivalent to the yearly consumption of 60 homes, flows into the local energy grid and is one community\'s odd and pioneering nod to the fight against global warming. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

(AP) -- A new kind of silent hero has joined the fight against climate change. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, a gritty, working-class town outside Barcelona, has placed a sea of solar panels atop mausoleums at its cemetery, transforming a place of perpetual rest into one buzzing with renewable energy.

Similar stories from PHYSorg:

British engineers slam home wind turbines as 'eco-bling'

Jan 20, 2010 | 4.4 / 5 (29) | 9

Swiss pilots aim to circle world in a solar-powered plane

Jan 21, 2010 | 3 / 5 (2) | 0

Climate heavy-hitters to address House panel

Apr 24, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (41) | 7

Chicago Installs Solar Powered Charging Station for Electric Vehicles

Apr 10, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (60) | 30

Impact of renewable energy on our oceans must be investigated, say scientists

Sep 17, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 2

• M_N - Nov 23, 2008
  • Rank: 4.7 / 5 (3)
  $900,000 to save 62 tons of CO2 per year? I hope that is a missprint - that works out to $725 / ton over the (typical) 20 year life of panels. Compare that to the $20 / ton cost of carbon being considered in the Emissions Trading Scheme Australia is looking at introducing.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• Paradox - Nov 23, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (6)
  Hmmmm.... Doesn't Emissions Trading just allow the rich to continue polluting?
  Sorry I don't buy it.
  :P
  
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• ryuuguu - Nov 23, 2008
  • Rank: 4.8 / 5 (4)

  Hmmmm.... Doesn't Emissions Trading just allow the rich to continue polluting?
  Sorry I don't buy it.
  :P
  

  
  It depends if have a scheme where they first give companies a huge amount of free emmmisiona and then say lets trade it has little effect. But if companies have to pay for every ton they emit whether in a tax or an offset, then they will start cutting back because it saves money. Cap and trade is better yet. if yu have real caps.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• M_N - Nov 24, 2008
  • Rank: 3.4 / 5 (5)
  The scheme being proposed in Australia would include giving industry a certain amount of emissions for "free".
  
  The government is trying to bring in this scheme in 2010, but it may not happen at all. Most people can see that it will just be a blatant tax grab by the government. The average person is becoming much more familiar with some of the BIG problems with global warming alarmism (such as the cooling of the last 10 years, and the lack of cooling in the troposphere). More people are also asking "why should we destroy our economy, when India and China will just continue polluting". The days of this "global warming" scam are numbered.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• Cairns - Nov 24, 2008
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (3)

  $900,000 to save 62 tons of CO2 per year? I hope that is a missprint - that works out to $725 / ton over the (typical) 20 year life of panels. Compare that to the $20 / ton cost of carbon being considered in the Emissions Trading Scheme Australia is looking at introducing.

  
  
  And that's just installation, maintenance costs weren't mentioned. I wonder what the total cost of electricity comes out to be? I'm all for reducing emissions, but at what cost? And what good is it really considering massive pollution in China and other countries like it?
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• la7dfa - Nov 24, 2008
  • Rank: 4.3 / 5 (3)
  Why cram solar panels in this dense city?
  Panels heating water on rooftops would probably be just as good at a tiny fraction of the price.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• Roach - Nov 24, 2008
  • Rank: 4.3 / 5 (4)
  This just in in the worst Solar power accident in history, 57,000 deceased people were found at a small solar power station in a small town outside Barcelona, Spain...
  
  I know this will get a low rank, but remember people this is a joke, don't get worked up.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• DGBEACH - Nov 24, 2008
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (3)

  This just in in the worst Solar power accident in history, 57,000 deceased people were found at a small solar power station in a small town outside Barcelona, Spain...

  
  ...a headline in Archeology Today, in the year 2208
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5