Cantera Verde Consortium is ...

space Coop .((ILAO) London + Madridvertis environmental finance Ltd. . Budapest + Madrid viva verde s.l. . Palma de Mallorca

the features

a solar power station with cliff,terrace and floor mounted panels producing 12,5 Mw. of solar energy b a green wall of flowering, fruiting, leaf dropping, evergreen, seasonal, medicinal, vegetationc a home, a sanctuary for populations of indigenous and migratory birds administered by a special birding charity – the Grupo Ornitologico di Balear (the GOB!!!)d a rain-water storage reservoir e a multi-storey Tourist Rental Car Electric Vehicle winter season car park f a "Park n' Ride facility for EVs for Palma city, Son Moix football stadium, marinas, cruise liner port and airport g an EcoLodge / VIP High Security Conference centre … the focus for “Extreme Birding”pursuit… to be designed by international renowned architect who Masterplanned ParcBit IT park adjacent to the University

the site          a quarry face : South-South-East . Dimensions 800m. x 150m. approx. b cliff face summit at 300m. asl.rendering finest views in existence of Palma city + bay + entire Tramuntana rangec site located 5km.from Palma city centre, 15 minutes from airport, 1 km. from Palma ring-road. d pit excavation below summit capable of holding, with minimal earth berm formation, approx.50m.litres fresh watere site opposite water utility storage and analysis centre connected directly to only other reservoir and Palma main ring mainf  high tension cabling still existant on site ; new high tension power lines running 400m.to east                                       

the benefitsa a permanent,visual solution to the scar on the landscape left by Cemex, the current ownersb 12,5Mw of Green Energy on Palma's doorstep with next to no transmission lossc reduction in CO2 emissions for the island. The main power stations are coal fired (Son Murteres,Alcudia) and CHP ( urban rubbish incineration ) ( Son Reus ).d rainwater capture potential to assist water supplies in high summere reduction in traffic congestion in Palma central cityf  removal of the final piece in the puzzle that was "Why did UNESCO award World Heritage Site status to the Serra de Tramuntana"... that begins, geographically with the quarry zone ... without stipulating the pre.requisite that the quarry be "solutionized".

The media focus since the Paris Climate Change summit seems unwaveringly in favour of Solar Energy as the way forward.This goes head to head with the current Spanish government policy on Energy and Solar ... which is to penalize self-generation and self-consumption. This is probably due to the revolving door that exists between the Right Wing and the energy utilities.                   

unique solar concept : decentralized community solar combining flora+fauna+technologyas detailed in part in the presentation, the intention of the project is to elevate sustainability in solar projects to a new level of excellence. We hope that although a number of elements are site specific, the paradigm will become a blueprint, as a prototype...with full expectation of evolution over time...for solar projects elsewhere in the world. There are immense benefits possible, as a “take-out”, from this project. Despite the lack of aFeed-In-Tariff in Spain, future governments of all or any political colouring will have to support theSolar industry once the log-jam with the existing monopolistic cartel has been surmounted. The mainplayers may alternatively change tack. Hence the recent approaches to Endesa, the main playerin the Spanish energy market via the Director of Communications, Maria Margalida Frau and theDirector of Sustainability, Hernan Cortés Sorría. If one is societal minded there is a strong theme to develop projects to safeguard Water and Energy supplies ... as a way of providing value-added to the macro and micro-community. Cantera Verde in some measure points a way to tick the boxes of both of these, at a time and in a way that has already been appreciated by both politicians and media here in Mallorca.

the process

step 1 : corporate sponsorship option online programme , already written , shows the face of the quarry covered with solar panels , with interstices of vegetation behind, each one showing the logo of a sponsoring corporation for that exact panel ... cost to supply and install paid in advance by that organisation : the 100 major corporations operating on the island : Hotel chains, airlines, car hirers, travel agencies, IT companies, cruise line operators, Superyacht charter companies, Real Estate agencies : all those corporates who have a direct or indirect interest in seeing more, quality tourists coming to Mallorca ; and whose clientele will benefit directly from the removal of this scar, this eyesore upon their view of the Serra de Tramuntana. Every cruise liner , every Superyacht, every airplane, every ferry from Barcelona or Valencia puts into Palma in full view of the bright beige cliffs of the quarry. Twelve Million people pass through Son San Joan airport to the east of Palma city every year. The sponsoring corporates would also be entitled by right to any Carbon Credits that might accrue under EU Emission Trading System rules for offseting the use of coal burning power supplies into the grid as mentioned above, should existing legislation on electricity pricing within the EU as whole be ammended.

step 2 : end-user consumer sign.onparticipating individual consumers of solar photovoltaic power log on and click on EXACTLY the panels that they wish to contract for; ie.however many they consider they need to power whatever proportion of their home as they see fit .Average power usage in US = 11,500 kWh. p.a. Average Spanish home = 4,300 kWh.p.a. >>> see attached <<<

At this point the driving force of the scheme is communicated to participants...

Cantera Verde solar power will be "Green" because : i) it draws energy for free from the sunii ) it does not involve the combustion or usage nor require the costly physical transportation nor capital infrastructure intensive refinement of hydrocarbons whose exploration and ground based extraction iscausing accelerating permanent damage to the planet's ecosystems be they sub.zero Arctic waters or teeming tropical Rainforests.iii) it does not pump CO2, CO,NOx,SO2 or mercury into the atmosphere ( 40% of the electricity supply for the Balearic Islands is still from the old coal fired power station dating back to the pre-Franco days )  iv) it draws down on that fossil fuel usage:each MW generated in the quarry by soiar means 1 MW less of pollution by coal generation in Alcudia *v) unlike the Alcudia coal fired plant the transmission into Palma is < 5kms. From Alcudia there is a transmission distance of c.50-60kms.to Palma depending on the routing used. Power losses in transmission are 50-60%vi) a totally unique feature for "so-called" Green Energy, this scheme will not only "minimize the negatives"as detailed above;it will also "accentuate the positives" : each kWh. supplied into the grid will generate a "Planet Positive Payback" (PPP) of 1 eurocent donated 100% to a Direct Action project in progress with Sir David Attenborough's The World Land Trust. My ex-company in the UK ( Enterprise Plants Ltd. )and my company here in Spain ( viva verde s.l. ) have "saved" already more than 500 hectares of threatened Rainforest , courtesy of The WorldLand Trust...for ALL  our tomorrows!

step 3 : municipal solar rate ... or UNESCO World Heritage Site (Serra de Tramuntana) capitalizationsince development is prohibited within the zone...from Port Andratx in the West to Cap Formentor in the East, Cantera Verde Consortium proposes a "carbon copy" of Cisco de Vries' Berkeley, CA Municipal Solar Rate concept in all its pure , simple , brilliance ... thereafter incorporated into the US Dept.of Energy's PACE scheme ( until dismembered by the Federal Loan Agency's "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac" on legal/technical grounds ). Householder's wishing to invest in Solar Photovoltaics to ensure self-generation were discouraged from so doing as personal investment payback over useful life (panels typically carry a 20 year guarantee) exceeded average years spent in a particular dwelling ... = 7 years. Berkeley Municipality stepped up to the plate by financing all Solar Photovoltaic installs ... parts and labour and connection charges ... and recouping this over a 20 year Solar Rate applicable to the property address and NOT the individual owner of the property: Photovoltaic Leasing Domestic Style.

Avoiding a shower of multi-crystalline amorphous solar panels on the Renaissance style roof.tops of most Tramuntana villages , eg. Esporles,  by siting them , en masse, on the wall of a quarry at an angle of incidence whereby only the edges are seen from downtown Palma, has to be a winner for all.So step 3 : householders , having registered their level of interest in step 2 with a commitment to X panels at Cantera Verde, now commit with the Municipality for their property to be liable for repayment of those panels via a Solar Rate ( or Tax ) over the next 20 years.

step 4 : municipality issued solar bond The Municipality issues a solar bond to cover the cost of the solar panels ... supply, installation and connection charges.The experience of Municipalities in the US, such as Berkeley , California ( 2008 ) and Desert Springs , Arizona ( 2010 ) is that savings banks are keen to advance finance for such projects. They represent little risk and a guaranteed return.The Municipality raised finance duplicates that provided by the sponsoring corporates in step 1. above. This ensures a sinking fund for long-term maintenance of the solar panels especially intensive cleaning due to their exposed location and the presence of sustained bird populations.

step 5 : bipartite solar feed.in.tariff accord : municipality <> gesa.endesa The Municipality accumulates all the applications from their local residents into a mass solar panel requirement batch.They then negotiate with Gesa.Endesa , the island's main power utility for credit note terms on individual domestic subscriber feed in tariffs: that is to say... what would be the bulk rate at which Gesa.Endesa would buy the energy in kWh.that subscribers X,Y and Z might put in to the Grid, from their panels on the quarry face, as committed to in steps 2 + 3 above.This rate per kWh. multiplied out by the consumer's actual, solar energy production will be subtracted from their monthly or bimonthly actual energy usage, invoiced by Gesa.Endesa, to decide which party owes the other money at that point in time.In summer months, the quarry solar panel subscriber will certainly be in credit with Gesa.Endesa; in winter they will possibly be in debt to Gesa.Endesa.

To recap: Who benefits from the above arrangements?

Mallorca : a decades long eyesore removed; a flagship, pioneering example of sustainable energy production and efficiency to burnish the credentials of what is supposed to be the "Emerald ( Green ) Isle" of the Mediterranean; a paradigm for restoration of other degraded land sites with a commercially viable, underlying theme              

Corporates : huge marketing and PR spin.offs from "solutioninizing" the quarry eyesore for target market populations; possible Carbon Credit derived cost savings for industries needing to offset CO2 emissions eg. airlines

Gesa.Endesa : immense marketing and PR benefits to add to their suspected new Green Direction; addition of Electric Vehicle charging station and long.term car park put firmly "on.track"; share of Carbon Credits accruing on resumption of EU ETS market; domestic clients locked.in for 20 years under Solar Rate scheme via Municipalities              

Municipalities : Green PR and "favoured town status" as shining examples of sustainable energy provision. eg. Curitiba, Brazil has let its former Green Mayor , Jaime Lerner , define its place on the world stage.As a result the value to incoming EcoTourism has been immense; "Diamond.Direct" value politicalcapital for the Mayor(ess) / Political Party that implements the scheme since it will mitigate the certain price rise acceleration in the domestic electricity rate as the power utilities cartel in Spain"go for the jugular" in recouping the claimed €18 Billion deficit outstanding from price suppressionof the domestic electricity tariff during the Partido Popular (PP) years of central government;avoidance of unsightly solar panels springing up throughout the village / town settlement by centralizing their location, off.site              

Householders : instead of self.financing the entire capital cost of selection, sourcing, installing and maintaining a photovoltaic array on their roof, the entire benefits stream is gained without risk at a price deferred into the long.term which may well be deflected onto a future owner of their property; avoidance of severe and unpredictable market price uplifts for energy into the forseeable future; a Green solutionto their environmental impact at home; avoidance of unsightly solar panels on their property that need frequent cleaning; apartment dwellers without right to roof access / installation are hereby enabled to participate in this aspect of the Green Energy Revolution          

Ecologists/GOB : a perfect example of restoration of degraded land

* Excerpt from Ultima Hora newspaper, Palma de Mallorca on 120415 using figures from Red España Electrica ( National Grid of Spain )"In 2015, the main energy of the islands continues to be Coal ( 41%) and along with the other fossil fuels such as diesel oil, gas and the combustion of waste, this produces 75% of all electricity generated.”“A report entitled "Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the Balearics", published by the Government in 2013 indicated that  " we find ourselves in an ideal situation for the implementation of renewable energy in the Balearics network, since the production capacity exceeds that which is needed and the increases can be absorbed by the installation of renewable energy plants."“Only 2.4% of the electrical production of the Balearics comes from renewable energy sources."