It seems Spain is subsidizing "green" gasoline-powered generators.
Solar panels are expensive, and so is the electricity that comes from them. But Spain is willing to pay 436 Euros per megawatt-hour of electricity from solar panels.
Apparently, scammers are installing solar panel farms, and using gasoline to generate electricity which "officially" comes from the panels. (For all I know, the electricity is channeled through the panels, so by the letter of the law, the electricity really did come "from" the panels.) They collect their 436 Euros per megawatt hour, buy gasoline with some of that, and pocket the rest.
It appears that gasoline generators are at work pumping energy into Spain's heavily subsidized solar panels. Of the 6 billion euros in government aid to the electricity market, 2.3 billion is lavished on electricity that is supposed to be produced by the sun's rays, generating a mere 2 percent of the nation's power needs. Under the profligate plan, anyone installing a solar panel can collect a check for 436 euros for each megawatt of power returned to the electrical grid. Several solar farms have sprung up as a result. As the newspaper El Mundo reported last week, at least 6,000 megawatts of purported solar electricity were generated during the dark evening and early-morning hours over three months. The decidedly nongreen use of generators helped the enterprising fraudsters walk away with at least 2.6 million euros.
It's not easy being green.
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