Staff Reporter
INSTALLATIONS of new wind plants in Spain have fallen to a record low following government subsidy cuts.
Just one wind turbine – with a capacity of 0.08 megawatts – was installed in the first six months of this year, according to the Asociacion Empresarial Eolica lobby group.
A spokesperson for the group added that this is the lowest half-yearly total since 1998, during which time the lowest annual total was last year’s 175 megawatts.
In June Spain’s government capped rates for renewable electricity suppliers, meaning that wind farms installed before 2004 – 28% of Spain’s total – will not receive any more subsidies, and newer farms will also have their funding cut.
Wind companies could be forced to close factories or leave the country by the absence of new investment, according to the lobby group.
