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Seville readies LED traffic light switch
Taking up the gauntlet brashly thrown down a few weeks ago by Taiwan, the Spanish city of Seville has launched a diabolical scheme to replace its halogen and incandescent traffic lights with LEDs. The switch to the new system will be undertaken gradually and will cost the town nearly €2.3 million, but when complete will conserve 85% of the energy used previously. Seville plans to replace 22,170 lamps in total, which will reduce energy drain annually by 3.93 million KWh, or 800 residential homes. No word, however, on what the province plans to do about its "Barber" problem.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Spanish solar tower could eventually power an entire city
Just last month we witnessed a gigantic skyscraper / solar tower hybrid that generates a whopping 390-kilowatts of energy, but even that looks like child's play compared to the 40-story solar power plant that resides in Spain. The expansive system consists of a towering concrete building, a field of 600 (and growing) sun-tracking mirrors that are each 120-square meters in size, and a receiver that converts concentrated solar energy from the heliostats into steam that eventually drives the turbines. Currently, only one field of mirrors is up and running, but even that produces enough power to energize 6,000 homes, and the creators are hoping to see the entire population of Seville (600,000 folks) taken care of solely from sunlight. So if you're eager to see what's likely the greenest solar power plant currently operating, be sure to slip on some shades, tag the read link, and peep the video.[Via Wired]
