* Astronomy

Reputedly famous for its creamy cheeses, Serpa in southern Portugal is described in a travel guide as a sleepy agricultural hilltop town of white houses. Quite soon this ancient walled town, founded in 400 BC, will be catapulted into the future. Its about to get an 11-megawatt solar power plant, comprising 52,000 photovoltaic modules, in what is being dubbed the worlds largest solar photovoltaic power project.

Construction work has begun on the 58m euro (£40m) plant, 200km south of Lisbon. It will produce enough electricity for 8,000 homes when it starts next January.
The 11-megawatt solar power plant, to be made up of 52,000 photovoltaic modules, will cover a 60-hectare southern-facing hillside.


Latitude 37°55'48.00"N Longitude 7°35'24.00"W

Portugal plans other solar plants to counter a rise in carbon emissions.
The project in the sunny Alentejo region has been developed by Portuguese renewable energy company Catavento, in conjunction with solar polar provider Powerlight and funded by General Electric Energy Financial Services.
The panels will be raised around two metres off the grass which will be kept cut by flocks of sheep.

"It should provide energy enough for 8,000 homes. It will save 30 tonnes of CO2 emissions, so that is probably around 1% of domestic consumption of Portugal“ - Catavento's Piero Dal Maso.

The plant will use PowerLight's PowerTracker technology which follows the sun as it moves across the sky throughout the day. The firm say this generates more electricity than conventional fixed-mount systems.
Catavento, Producao de Energia Eolica Lda. is one of the few private and independent Portuguese renewable energy companies. Since 2001, it has developed 110 MW in Portugal and 225 MW in Brazil. It owns and operates 9.2 MW of wind energy through partnerships and this year will build an additional 40 MW of wind projects. It is expanding in other EU countries.

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