Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The largest rooftop solar power station in the world is being built in Spain. With a capacity of 12 megawatts of power, the station is made up of 85,000 lightweight panels covering an area of two million square feet.
Manufactured in rolls, rather like carpet, the photovoltaic panels are to be installed on the roof of a General Motors car factory in Zaragoza.
General Motors, which plans to install solar panels at another 11 plants across Europe, unveiled the 50 million euro project last week. The power station should be producing energy by September.
The panels will produce an expected annual output of 15.1m kilowatt hours (kwh) - enough to meet the needs of 4,600 households with an average consumption of 3,300kwh, or power a third of the GM factory. The solar energy produced should cut CO2 emissions by 6,700 tonnes a year.
Blessed with almost year-round sunshine, Spain's government is trying to capitalise on this natural resource. Industry experts expect countries in the Middle East to follow its lead in the near future.
