Spain has become a world leader in wind turbine manufacture thanks to a good wind regime and a generous feed-in tariff for windfarms feeding its national grid. Now it plans to become a world leader in electric car manufacture, if one reads between the lines of this Reuters report: The wind energy will charge the cars'batteries, of course.
SPAIN: July 31, 2008
MADRID - Spain's government aims to have 1 million electric cars on the roads by 2014 as part of a plan to cut energy consumption and dependence on expensive imports, Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian said on Tuesday.
"Electric vehicles are the future and the driver of the industrial revolution," Sebastian said in testimony to a congressional panel.
Sebastian recently unveiled government plans to cut energy use by 10 percent over two years in a bid to save 5 billion euros (US$7.87 billion) annually as oil prices soar and Spain suffers a severe economic slowdown.
The plan will cost 245 million euros and contains 31 measures, including a target to cut driving speeds by 20 percent.
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About Us
In 2006 four scenarios for Ireland were developed to look at the impact of changing energy prices. The site developed for those scenarios is here: http://www.energyscenariosireland.com. We are updating the scenarios with the intention of publishing the updates in autumn 2008 and the plan is to write it section by section on this blog. We hope that readers will help us improve the final version by commenting on our entries, challenging our assumptions and picking up on any errors.
Richard Douthwaite, writer and economist, is a co-founder of Feasta. He is the author of several books including The Growth Illusion and The Ecology of Money. He recently edited Before the Wells Run Dry - Ireland's Transition to Renewable Energy.
Contact Richard at richard at douthwaite dot net
Phoebe Bright has 20 years of wide ranging experience as a business consultant, solving problems for companies such as The London Stock Exchange and Chase Manhattan Bank and starting a flying school. She has a particular interest in challenging businesses to identify risks and opportunities created by changing energy prices.
Contact Phoebe at phoebebright at spamcop dot net and blogs at pbjots.blogspot.com.
Richard Douthwaite, writer and economist, is a co-founder of Feasta. He is the author of several books including The Growth Illusion and The Ecology of Money. He recently edited Before the Wells Run Dry - Ireland's Transition to Renewable Energy.Contact Richard at richard at douthwaite dot net
Phoebe Bright has 20 years of wide ranging experience as a business consultant, solving problems for companies such as The London Stock Exchange and Chase Manhattan Bank and starting a flying school. She has a particular interest in challenging businesses to identify risks and opportunities created by changing energy prices.Contact Phoebe at phoebebright at spamcop dot net and blogs at pbjots.blogspot.com.