In the News up or down) were 50,000 in Albox, 40,000 in Arboleas, 40,000 in Cantoria, 45,000 in Carboneras, 36,000 in Cuevas, 18,000 in Garrucha, 50,000 in Huércal-Overa, 34,000 in Los Gallardos, 43,000 in Mojácar, 45,000 in Macael, 10,000 in Pulpí, and 25,000 in Turre. In 16 municipalities, the mayor or mayoress drew no salary at all, including Lucainena de las Torres.
‘Endesa’ Batteries The Carboneras power station belonging to Endesa has started the installation of an enormous battery system that will be used to provide electricity when needed. This is the first such installation at a coalfired power station in Europe, and the second in the world. The battery system will be installed in 16 containers, along with all the control gear, and the whole set-up will cover 1,500 m2. Electricity stored in the batteries will have a total capacity of 20 Megawatts, and a charge capability of 10 Megawatts per hour. (1 megawatt is the power needed for 1,000 water heaters with a 1,000 watt element, all on at the same time). At “off peak” periods, such as overnight, the batteries will be charged up and the stored electricity will be available at times of heavy demand. The new installation is expected to be ready to be used from June 2018 and has cost 12 million Euros. Electricity that has to come from coal-fired power stations is one of the most expensive methods, apart from producing CO2 gases. The power station at Carboneras has installed “scrubbers” to reduce their CO2 emissions in line with EU requirements.
Barak Obama being President, she promised action before he left office. In 2015, John Kerry, the Secretary of State, came to Spain and signed a “nonlegally binding” memorandum “subject to cancellation and modifications” that the US would remove the rest of the soil. No concrete action has resulted. The local politicians are asking for a round-table meeting with government representatives and the Spanish Nuclear Authority. A spokesperson from central government has stated that there are continuing talks “at a high level” between Spanish and US nuclear bodies. There is a fear that if the US assumes the responsibility for the clean-up, this may set a precedent. One of the proposals from the US is that a special road would be built from Palomares to Cartagena where there is a Spanish navy base. Critics are asking what is wrong with Garrucha port?
Palomares Clean-Up Central Government is being pressurised by local politicians to put forward concrete proposals to remove the radioactive waste at Palomares. This January it was 52 years since the mid-air collision between a US bomber carrying four nuclear missiles and a US tanker aircraft. The four missiles were jettisoned, with three landing on the ground and one in the sea. Two that landed on the ground had fractured nose cones that released plutonium dust. There was a major clean-up, but large quantities of contaminated soil are still there. When Hilary Clinton was US Secretary of State, during the first term of
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Injured Dolphins ‘Equinac’ is a marine preservation body in Almería province which receives no funding, but is authorised to rescue protected marine species such as dolphins and turtles. In the last few weeks there has been a sudden increase in broken jaws in protected dolphins known as Stenella Coeruleoalba. Four dead dolphins were found to have broken jaws and the theory was that the injuries were caused by some sort of fishing technique and that the dead dolphins were thrown against rocks. This theory went out of the window when a live dolphin was found to have a broken jaw on a calm day with no heavy seas. The injuries have been reported to the Almería Provincial Continued ....