Freiburg is a city in the bore of the Black Forest area of 215,000 inhabitants, of whom 30,000 are university students, and there are twice as bicycle hire.

It all began in 1975 when the intention of building a nuclear plant joined the population, leaving aside any ideological difference in defense of an ecological model of development against the threat that hit them. Today the Greens in a coalition governed the city with more than 30% of the vote.

Social consciousness has pressured federal and regional governments to adopt environmental policies constants within an environmentally respectful. Among many other unique features of this city include:

• Silent City without jamming: cycling track of 500 km that accounts for one third of commuting.
• Parking at the station with a capacity of more than 1,000 bicycles to facilitate train-bike combination to get to work, and also hosts a car sharing agency (Car Sharing).
• Large network of trams that run on electricity (in part from renewable sources).
• An urban policy prevents the city grow too, “is about building only in areas already developed for no more forest to cut and maintain the compact city,” says the councilor of the Environment, Gerda Stuchlik.
• Neighborhood superecológico of Vauban. Most homes have solar thermal panels for hot water and photovoltaic sale of the electricity network. The buildings are energy efficient, and all its inhabitants by car (only 20% of families living there) have to buy a parking space-solar found in the input, also can not park inside.
• City leader in solar energy. 10,000 people are directly engaged in the environment, mostly in solar energy companies that billed more than 1,000 million € per year.
• Parishes self supplied by renewables.
• The football stadium is also supplied with photovoltaic panels.
• Head of the Institute for Ecology and ISES (International Solar Energy Society).
• Residence of the European Secretariat of the International Council for environmental initiatives.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.
• Celebration each year of the Fair’s most prestigious European solar sector: Intersolar (21 to 23 June 2007).
• And a long list.

This new example demonstrates again the ability to pressure of public opinion, and the need for involvement by the municipalities, provinces and communities.

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With its recent connection to the electricity distribution Iberdrola has become the first of its kind not only in Spain but in Europe. This is a photovoltaic solar installation, compared with a conventional, using a remarkable reduction of silicon and converts sunlight into electricity with very high efficiency. Incorporates technological innovations that allow operation at very high temperatures without compromising performance or their performance over time.

The development of this facility is the result of a collaboration agreement signed by the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), through its Institute of Solar Energy, Photon Guascor Company and the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving of Energy, an agency of Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade. The latter has provided 200,000 euros to the project for funding.

The performance is part of the activities to promote innovation that includes the Renewable Energy Plan 2005-2010, which aims to reach 400 MW Solar PV power installed in 2010.

The plant is located for follow-up technical and scientific experience in the field of Photovoltaic Solar Energy Institute in Madrid. Plans for a guaranteed power output of 43,089 kilowatt hours per year, equivalent to the consumption of 22 families. It is a very important development because it is the first high-concentration unit is installed, analyzes and operates in Spain. It is also the first in Europe to combine Fresnel lenses and silicon photovoltaic cells last generation, with subsequent contacts that prevent shading of the active surface.

More cost competitive

Most systems use conventional silicon photovoltaic exposed to direct light to produce electricity. With the new concentrator technology opens the possibility of obtaining very competitive costs in production quantities sufficient as it is made of silicon substitution by other materials that make an economic concentration of power incident on the photovoltaic cell. This means the commercial opening of a new industrial road to the photovoltaic sector to cut costs drastically.

The Photon Guascor innovative technology incorporates an integrated high-concentration photovoltaic (sifakas) that focuses light onto small solar cells specially designed to withstand more than 250 suns. These cells have been developed in Silicon Valley by highly specialized firms participating in the said company in Spanish and also rehearse multiple operating facilities in Arizona, Nevada, California and Texas.

Currently, the systems developed by Photon Guascor achieve up to 400x concentration. “Source: Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade.

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