2008-12-13 太阳能墓园（在线收听）

Catalans are famous throughout Spain for their spirit of innovation. That ingenuity has recently been extended to the creation of what, the Associated Press reports, is the Barcelonan area's largest solar energy plant. The solar panels have been installed on top of several mausoleums at a cemetery located in the suburb of Santa Coloma de Gramanet. It is one of a few open sunny places in the crowded city of more than 120,000 where space can be at a premium.

The project includes the installation of 462 solar panels over an area of 700 square meters that generate 202 kilowatts of power. To put it in colloquial terms, this amounts to the amount of electricity that 60 families consume in a year.

The city has several other solar parks which have mostly been installed on top of the buildings, but the cemetery is by far the largest. That does not seem to worry Juan Arroyo Garcia who is a regular visitor to the cemetery.

“When I learned from the media that they were going to install solar panels in the cemetery, I thought that it wasn't a bad idea at all. It doesn't spoil the landscape. On the other hand, they don't disturb our private grief when we visit our deceased loved ones, and on the top of that all, we are talking about clean energy. I fully support this.”

Garcia’s reaction reflects the community-wide support for the project even though there were some initial concerns.

The first reaction from the public was one of surprise. They didn't understand why we put solar panels in the cemetery. They asked if they were built to light their homes. So when we explained to them why the panels were put there, they understood and thought that was a very good idea.

Row after row of solar panels now cover the tops of the mausoleums. They soak up the maximum amount of the sunshine as the panels almost face south.

They are also tilted at a low angle, making them unobtrusive.

“When I got here, I was really surprised, mainly because I hadn’t been here for a long time. I thought to myself, look at that -- now they’ll be able to watch television and to get heating during the winter time. But when I learned about this initiative, then I thought it was a very good idea, because the energy generated here will provide electricity to many families. It is ingenious.”

According to the Associated Press, the project helps reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 62 tons each year. Authorities now hope to install solar plants in most cemeteries in Catalonia as well as elsewhere in Spain.