Failure to deliver more long-duration energy storage is the “ignored crisis within the energy crisis” and guidance has been released to bring more pumped storage hydropower projects to fruition to combat this The guidance released by the International Hydropower Association (IHA) provides recommendations to reduce risks and enhance certainty in project development and delivery on pumped hydro projects It also equips decision-makers with tools to guide the development of these projects and unlock finance mechanisms The document was put together with a working group chaired by Bechtel and featuring Brookfield Renewables Dentons LLP and the University of Cambridge Pumped storage hydropower is the largest form of renewable energy storage with nearly 200GW installed across more than 400 projects around the world It provides more than 90% of the long-duration energy storage around the world sector players argue that there must be more as there is an ever increasing need to increase global capacity for long-duration energy storage This is because other renewables such as wind and solar are intermittent and chemical batteries are not long duration As electricity demand increases and the world transitions away from fossil fuels towards renewables more sources of on-demand dispatchable power will  be required “The failure to adequately focus on this need for long duration electricity storage is the ignored crisis within the energy crisis,” IHA president Malcolm Turnbull said “Pumped storage hydropower has the unique capacity to resolve this challenge at huge scale well beyond the reach of even the largest batteries.” Turnbull further argued that “pumped hydro systems can also provide inertia and grid stability without reliance on fossil fuels” These feelings are echoed by Bechtel global business development manager and working group chair Chris McGonagle who said: “It is impossible to achieve an efficient net zero power grid without combining renewables with large-scale sometimes known as ‘Rechargeable Water Batteries’ and efficient form of long-duration energy storage.” Despite the case for more pumped storage hydro stakeholders can be reticent to move them forward due to the risks involved Stantec vice president and global sector leader – dams and hydropower Donald Erpenbeck has been working on pumped hydro projects for over 35 years and said he has “seen many more projects fail in the process than […] succeed” “I continue to be surprised by experts/owners who oversimplify pumped storage hydro and/or developers/owners who take pumped storage hydro for granted in the energy transition mix,” Erpenbeck continued “Pumped storage hydropower Is one of the most technically difficult projects in the heavy civil works world due to two-way water and power flow combined with tunnelling and dams on the top of mountain and if you magnify those by the scale of high head and long and large tunnels you have a challenge not to be minimised.” Acciona global head of dams and marine works Joaquín Jiménez Labadie agreed saying: “I personally think that the construction phase of pumped storage projects is particularly critical involving significant costs and uncertainties geotechnical surprises and inadequate planning can increase costs and project delays the interfaces across different project areas and unforeseen events can lead to construction complications and jeopardise the project.” Erpenbeck went on to say that “the only thing more complicated than the technical is the financial/commercial aspects” This is because pumped storage hydro projects are “long duration energy storage and have little relationship to conventional hydro for modelling the economics and usage” “Pumped storage hydropower is more a transmission/grids level asset than a generating asset and the companies that own and operate them struggle to model them they just know they need them and they make money,” he continued “It is my hope that the guides produced by this group will increase the success rate of pumped storage projects in the development cycle and bring more projects to financial close in a more streamlined manner.” The 40-page guidance note provides extensive guidance into how pumped storage hydro works the range and allocation of risks to consider when developing schemes the path of a project from identification to delivery and market factors There are four over-arching themes to the guidance: The full guidance note can be found here Overview of risks to pumped storage hydropower schemes from IHA guidance Turnbull wrote to the prime minister in March this year saying that he welcomed the UK’s decision to promote the development of long-duration electricity storage through a cap and floor scheme He said that developing more pumped hydro projects will increase the country’s energy security “The United Kingdom has almost 7GW of shovel-ready pumped storage hydropower projects with over 135GWh of storage capacity If they were built it would increase the UK’s energy storage five fold.” UK hydropower projects in development in the UK are concentrated in Scotland The biggest pumped hydro-electric project currently consented is SSE Renewables’ £1.5bn and 1.5GW Coire Glas at Loch Lochy in the Great Glen in the Scottish Highlands, on which Cowi is also working. Last year NCE spoke to Cowi and SSE to find out more about the challenges of the project Additionally, last month Glen Earrach Energy announced plans to build a 2GW pumped hydro facility at the Balmacaan Estate in Scotland, next to Loch Ness at a cost of £2-3bn. The 450MW Loch na Cathrach pumped hydro scheme has recently been taken over by Norwegian firm Statkraft which will take the £550M project through delivery Like what you've read? To receive New Civil Engineer's daily and weekly newsletters click here. Tagged with: Glen Earrach Energy (GEE) has formally applied to develop a 2GW pumped… Mott MacDonald has been appointed to provide consultancy services for key stages… Expressions of interest from local authorities and industrial actors hoping to host… A large structure apparently made of concrete and dozens of wind turbines… Magazzino Italian Art recently hosted international visitors The Consul of Spain for Cultural Affairs visited the Cold Spring museum Aug Magazzino Italian Art co-founders Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu gave Juan José Herrera de la Muela, Consul of Spain for Cultural Affairs, and Andreas Janousch a teacher at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid the Spanish architect who designed Magazzino Italian Art and staff architect Jacobo Mingorance, they viewed the exhibition at Magazzino "Arte Povera," from the Olnick Spanu Collection The show focuses on the 12 artists connected to the Arte Povera movement in Italy: Giovanni Anselmo Michelangelo Pistoletto and Gilberto Zorio The term Arte Povera was coined by art critic Germano Celant to describe impoverished art which "grew out of the radical stance these artists were taking in response to their dissatisfaction with the values established by political industrial and cultural institutions in Italy." many of which have never been exhibited in the United States are part of the Olnick Spanu Collection of post-war Italian art Inspired by the legacy of Margherita Stein a pioneer and art advocate of Arte Povera active in Turin and in Milan since 1966 Magazzino Italian Art was created as an exhibition space devoted to this generation of Italian artists Magazzino was privately funded by Olnick and Spanu art collectors with a second home in nearby Garrison (the first is in Manhattan) who have amassed nearly 500 pieces of Italian art over three decades The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday-Monday; closed Tuesday-Wednesday. Admission is free; visit www.magazzino.art Magazzino Italian Art is at 2700 Route 9, Cold Spring Call 845-666-7202; email info@magazzino.art MAGAZZINO: Garrison couple turns private art collection into Magazzino NEWBURGH: Newburgh's Liberty Street ups the ante on dining, drinking, shopping options ART: Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn to host 'Hudson River of Bricks' installation through October Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Record-breaking rains in March have brought relief after a long dry spell Water level lines on the La Muela reservoir in Cortes de Pallas 2025 at 8:33 AM EDTBookmarkSaveTakeaways NEWJana Laurence and Martinho — the unprecedented string of four named storms that barreled through the Iberian peninsula in the past three weeks — came with a silver lining: the likely end of Spain's worst drought in recorded history The tempests tripled the amount of rain that usually falls on all of Spain during the first three weeks of March Cordoba and Madrid saw 10 times the usual amount of rainfall with dozens of weather stations across the country registering monthly records has become one of Spain's richest towns on the back of what is the new gold for rural communities - renewable energy the wind energy companies that provide up to 40% of Spain's electricity on blustery days came looking to plant their turbines These now line the hills outside the town and form neat patterns across the plain Generating companies pay €1m (£940,000) a year to the town hall in rent and taxes Planting windmills has proved far more lucrative than cultivating crops Each brings in about €3,000 a year to the landowner The wind energy boom brought with it a frenzy of development as the town's population increased threefold With wind power pouring euros into the municipal coffers The 5,000 residents now share three museums a bull-ring and a gleaming sports and swimming centre and to the Caribbean beaches of Santo Domingo A plot of land she owns now contains three smart new houses for herself and her two sons In a pattern repeated in several Spanish towns recently directed not at her but at the courts and the police "She has done fine things for La Muela," one local told the television cameras "She has been making fools of us for 22 years," said 42-year-old Asunción Gimeno The magistrate investigating the case yesterday sent La Muela town councillor Juan Carlos Rodrigo to jail to await trial The same judge was expected to interrogate Pinilla today and decide if she While it was the construction boom that accompanied the wind turbines which led to the arrest of Pinilla and other officials alleged to have demanded backhanders the renewable energies explosion was already leaving a footprint of sleaze elsewhere in Spain A judge in the Canary Islands last week accused a former industry department chief of making millions of euros by selling secret information on land about to be earmarked for the wind industry Inspectors are also busy looking at a sudden boom in solar farms where subsidies assuring a 12% annual return on investment over 25 years sent Spain's notoriously corrupt real estate developers into a frenzy In many ways those subsidies were a spectacular success In three years Spain built about 29,000 solar "gardens" to become the world's second-largest producer of solar power after Germany In 2004 it took three months to install 2 megawatts; by 2008 the same amount was being installed every day as stretches of countryside disappeared under shiny black panels "Entire boatloads of panels from China were being auctioned before they even got to port," said one dealer "It became an instrument for speculators," explained environmental expert Juanma Redondo "Solar gardens were being sold like pension funds Licences to build solar gardens or connect to the grid became Spain's most sought-after pieces of paper and backhanders and trafficking in licences soon started Clean energy is believed to have attracted dirty money as the notoriously corrupt construction business sought ways to launder illegal earnings Information about plans to build connection points to dump solar power into the grid also became hugely valuable: land prices around these points multiplied up to 10 times overnight There have been no public tenders and no transparent decision-making," commented Luis Gómez A dozen officials at the regional government of Castilla y León were sacked last year after giving licences to relatives was arrested for allegedly selling licences When Spain's National Commission for Energy decided to inspect 30 solar gardens, it found only 13 of them had been built properly and were actually dumping electricity into the network. After exceeding its solar energy target 10 times over, Spain has slashed subsidies for future projects. Despite the corruption brought by the boom, Spain is also reaping benefits. On sunny days solar panels provide up to 5% of the country's energy needs. Wind turbines like those at La Muela provide even more clean energy, allowing Spain to cover almost a third of electricity needs from renewable sources last month. This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025. The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media. Sigrid Lopez and Victoria Martinez Muela traveled together on a trip to Cuba. Lopez attended her friend’s 2017 wedding. The two were like sisters, Martinez Muela said, and both were key figures in San Gabriel Valley politics. 10:45 a.m. Aug. 1, 2021This article says Councilwoman Victoria Martinez Muela voted to approve contract extensions with Southland Transit on Jan. 24, 2017. Though city meeting minutes record Martinez Muela voting in favor of the contract, video from the meeting shows she did not participate in the vote. But the friendship shattered when Martinez Muela, a member of the El Monte City Council, voted against allowing retail sales of cannabis in the city, a proposal that Lopez had championed. Now, Lopez has signed a sworn declaration as part of a complaint submitted to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office in May alleging that Martinez Muela may have accepted a $1,100 gift from her for a medical procedure and failed to disclose it on financial statements, in violation of the state’s political ethics law. Lopez said in an interview the money was for breast augmentation surgery for Martinez Muela. In interviews with The Times, Martinez Muela did not deny accepting the financial assistance, but also said she did nothing wrong. Lopez, she said, was a generous friend who also drove her to and from the procedure, and cared for her afterward. The district attorney’s office is reviewing the complaint, a spokesman said. It was lodged by Andre Quintero, a prosecutor with the Los Angeles city attorney’s office and a former El Monte mayor who has clashed with Martinez Muela. Lopez told The Times she paid $5,000 in expenses for Martinez Muela on the Cuba trip a few years ago, including hotel, airfare, rum and cigars. The allegation is not part of the complaint submitted to the district attorney’s office. Martinez Muela said the two traveled together, but she paid her own way and that Lopez didn’t buy her rum and cigars. They both insist theirs was a real friendship: Lopez said any gifts or money she bestowed were not meant to influence decisions by Martinez Muela and the councilwoman said she voted on principle and did not favor her friend. Martinez Muela, who also works for a mental health nonprofit, insists the complaint is payback for having cast herself as a corruption fighter, raising alarms over conflicts of interest at City Hall and alleged shady dealings related to cannabis licensing. She and Quintero, who was mayor for 11 years, were part of opposing political factions on the council, and she accuses him of exerting control over Lopez, who now owns pot companies that are mentioned as parties of interest in a lawsuit alleging a pay-to-play scheme in the competition for cannabis licenses in the city. Lopez, meanwhile, said she only signed the declaration about her alleged gift to Martinez Muela because she might be deposed in the lawsuit. Both women said they feel used and betrayed by the other. Experts said they’re not surprised the tipping point arose over cannabis, which has become a lucrative source of revenue and fostered corruption in some cities following legalization of recreational use in California. Adam Spiker, executive director of the nonprofit Southern California Coalition, the Southland’s largest marijuana trade association, said cannabis is a wedge issue that “certainly can exacerbate the political divide.” Lopez, 52, and Martinez Muela, 48, met at a political event in Sacramento in 2011, after the councilwoman was first elected. Lopez was a lobbyist for El Monte’s bus route and dial-a-ride contractor, which has a service agreement worth millions of dollars. Her job was to make sure the council members were happy with the company. Affable and with a knack for building relationships, she said she formed a special connection with Martinez Muela, someone she “looked up to ... like the popular girl in high school.” “After a while I didn’t look at her as a political official, I looked at her as my best friend,” Lopez said. In 2016, the week before Christmas, Lopez said Martinez Muela asked her for a personal favor. Martinez Muela was about to undergo breast augmentation surgery, but couldn’t pay the full cost and asked for a loan, Lopez said. Lopez said she agreed to cover the gap. On Dec. 29 that year, she said she drove Martinez Muela to the clinic of Dr. Daniel J. Casper, a cosmetic surgeon in Pasadena, for the procedure. While there, she said she paid $1,100 to Casper using a debit card. The declaration included an attached bank statement showing a payment from one of Lopez’s business accounts to Casper. The doctor did not respond to requests for comment. Martinez Muela said the breast augmentation was needed for a medical condition. She would not comment on whether she disclosed the payment as required. She disputed Lopez’s characterization of the money as a loan, but declined to elaborate. Although not illegal, loans to political figures must be paid back and terms set, otherwise they are designated as gifts. Records show that Martinez Muela did not report the financial assistance on required financial disclosure statements. Bob Stern, coauthor of the state’s 1974 Political Reform Act, said Martinez Muela may have violated the prohibition on public officials accepting expensive gifts from individuals with an interest in influencing their decisions, such as lobbyists. She also may have violated the law by not disclosing the gift, he said. At the time of the procedure, elected officials could not accept gifts totaling more than $460 annually from a single source, the complaint noted. There are some exceptions, such as gifts from longtime personal friends and acts of human compassion. But Stern said those exceptions didn’t apply because Lopez first met Martinez Muela when she was an elected official, and Lopez was representing a company with business before the council. “The appearance of this, whether it’s legal or not, is not good at all. It really shows a lack of ethical understanding,” Stern said. “Clearly, the elected official should have known better.” At the time Lopez allegedly paid for her friend’s surgery, she worked as a lobbyist for Southland Transit, which was seeking to renew its bus services contract. On Jan. 24, 2017, less than a month after the payment, Martinez Muela joined the council in a 4-0 vote to approve contract extensions with Southland Transit worth nearly $700,000, city records show. That May, Martinez-Muela was absent when the council approved a two-year, $3-million contract with the company. Lopez said the company never knew about any of her gifts to Martinez Muela. The company’s vice president, Jason Snow, said the business never authorized any such gifts and “never would have approved” of them. Also in 2017, a cannabis business hired Lopez as a lobbyist to secure the City Council’s support for an ordinance that would allow cultivation in the city, Lopez said. Lopez said she lobbied Martinez Muela and discussed the proposal with her over lunch at an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles. Martinez Muela voted that November to grant final approval for the ordinance. The vote was 3-0, with two other council members absent. More than a year later, the council approved cannabis cultivation, processing and distribution projects near the border with Temple City and Rosemead. Martinez Muela voted in favor of the projects. But when the City Council approved measures in November 2019 to also allow retail sales, Martinez Muela cast a dissenting vote and on social media described the coalition of pot supporters as “outsiders.” Lopez said she took the remark as an insult that showed Martinez Muela placed politics above their friendship. “She could have just abstained,” Lopez said. “Please don’t let this … situation break us,” Martinez Muela says she wrote in a text message, in one of their final exchanges after the vote. Lopez said she blocked her friend’s number and never spoke to her again. Martinez Muela said she’d warned Lopez of her decision. “That’s the difference between politicians and public servants. I am your friend but I have to vote this way because my community demands it of me,” she said. Since then, she’s called for a state audit of the city and supports accusations in the lawsuit over the city’s cannabis license scoring system that alleges a pay-to-play scheme in which businesses that made tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions won licenses. She accused Lopez of colluding with Quintero, the former mayor who brought the complaint to the district attorney’s office, and current city officials to cover up corruption. Quintero denied he contacted the district attorney’s office for political reasons, asserting it was his duty as a citizen to report any alleged illegal conduct to the proper authorities. “It’s unfortunate that she would try to deflect in this way,” Quintero said. Martinez Muela’s opponents have seized on Lopez’s gift allegations to accuse her of hypocrisy. “She’s making unfounded allegations about corruption by everyone else around her, and she’s been keeping this secret about her own conduct,” said Councilwoman Maria Morales. “It’s just astonishing.” Lopez said she signed the sworn declaration on the advice of her attorney, who said that she would likely be deposed in the pay-to-play lawsuit and asked under oath about payments to city officials. In her declaration, Lopez said that she’s never provided financial assistance to any other El Monte council members. Lopez, no longer a lobbyist, now has her own cannabis businesses, including a dispensary in Maywood. In El Monte, her personal enterprises have drawn attention after receiving two of the six dispensary licenses awarded by the city. Those decisions were handled by the staff and an outside consultant, and the council didn’t vote on them. Lopez denies having any influence over the process. Asked what she thought about the friendship in retrospect — whether it was real, or just rooted in politics, Martinez Muela said, “it’s a sad question all politicians have to consider.” “They always say, when you’re in office everybody will take your call,” she said. California World & Nation 2021: This article says Councilwoman Victoria Martinez Muela voted to approve contract extensions with Southland Transit on Jan Though city meeting minutes record Martinez Muela voting in favor of the contract video from the meeting shows she did not participate in the vote Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN LATINO & MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE Generations of passionate Tolkien readers have sought out the landscapes that inspired the fantasy saga But none of them have dared to put Latin America on… we have all the Orcs in the government," commented an Internet user on the Facebook of the J Tolkien Fan Club in Bolivia after meeting a beautiful but also delirious initiative: if coronavirus had left them without the possibility of meeting or setting up more gatherings then they would go all over the country looking for landscapes that could fit in Tolkien's mythical world.  Soon photos began to arrive at the club from all regions of Bolivia "The Shire" was located in the vineyards of Tarija 'The Green Dragon,' where Frodo goes at the end of the day has a twin in La Paz as a wooden house in the residential area of Sopocachi. Today, it's a themed restaurant of the 'Tolkien' world.  where Frodo is stabbed by one of the spectres of the ring the Muela del Diablo is as or more impressive It's a huge molar-shaped hill south of La Paz that is told in all sorts of legends about pitched battles between angels and demons enchantments and mysterious disappearances.  After each photograph sent by the fans participating in the contest more and more similarities were found between the books movies and the changing Bolivian landscape and the multitude of stories and superstitions associated with those places.  'role-playing,' touristic and above all virtual exercise devised by these Tolkien fanatics who have turned Middle-earth into a magical and Andean continent.  "We always had the idea of showing this great richness and diversity we have in the country and comparing it to Tolkien's fantastic world," club president Aaron Galvez told EFE.  the club announced on social media that several videos with photographs can be seen on its YouTube channel The first is called 'On the Road to Middle Earth.'  in some of his letters to his editors he commented that he had been inspired by various places in the United Kingdom to set the scene for his fabulous mythological continent which he so often said was a reflection of the Earth in different stages the Hobbit's "The Shire" was inspired by Salehole a village around Birmingham with a mill where Tolkien's family had lived "It was more or less a Warwickshire village at the time of the Diamond Jubilee (of Queen Victoria)," said the writer (Note for 'Tolkien' seekers: the mill is still standing Not all of Middle Earth was inspired by his experiences in Birmingham Tolkien also admitted that the Black Gate of Mordor and the Dead Marshes where Frodo travels with Sam and Gollum and sees the faces of those who died during the war reflected on the water "owe something to Northern France after the Battle of the Somme" — the writer fought in the First World War.  Although every writer is imbued with his own experience Tolkien often shied away from attempts to define places in his books But those who sought to make Middle Earth a metaphor for the Earth itself by situating Gondor in Italy or Mordor in Turkey and the Middle East or even Rhovanion in the forests of Germany never pointed to Latin America as one of the possible magical enclaves the 'Tolkien' club hopes that Amazon executives will shoot even a scene from the Lord of the Rings series in the country.  THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE Please visit these standalone sites for more information GE Aerospace | GE Vernova | GE HealthCare  2019 – Enerfín announced today the start of the construction of the 50 MW Cofrentes wind farm which will be powered by 13 of GE Renewable Energy's onshore wind turbines The project is the first between the two companies and marks the return of wind energy to the Valencian Community after an eight-year hiatus The project will be powered by 13 of GE's 3.8-137 onshore wind turbines ideally suited to take advantage of the wind conditions in the mountainous range of La Muela de Cortes The turbines will be produced at GE's Renewable Energy site in Salzbergen Germany; while the blades will be manufactured by GE's LM Wind Power in Spain GE Renewable Energy will also provide a 25-year Full Service Agreement offering data-driven insights all sourced locally thanks to GE Renewable Energy's Service site in Noblejas and the new Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Barcelona Onshore Wind CEO for Europe and SSA at GE Renewable Energy "we are very excited to be working with Enerfín in our first project together and to be able to do so on a project that highlights our commitment to the Spanish wind market while offering the full range of local capabilities expertise and unique solutions we have in Spain." where the drivetrains of the Cofrentes turbines will eventually go for service is one of the few sites in Spain with the scope to service machines of up to 4MW from a variety of manufactures is expected to add to its radar Enerfín's turbines once they are commissioned by 2020 [email protected] [email protected] ROC Barcelona GE's 3 MW Onshore Wind turbine GE Noblejas Surge in wind power and hydropower drives emissions down by more than 23%, reports BusinessGreen Remarkable new figures from Spain's grid operator have revealed that greenhouse gas emissions from the country's power sector are likely to have fallen 23.1% last year as power generation from wind farms and hydroelectric plants soared Red Eléctrica de España (REE) released a preliminary report on the country's power system late last month revealing that for "the first time ever [wind power] contributed most to the annual electricity demand coverage" wind turbines met 21.1% of electricity demand on the Spanish peninsular narrowly beating the region's fleet of nuclear reactors wind farms are estimated to have generated 53,926 gigawatt hours of electricity while high levels of rainfall meant hydroelectric power output was 16% higher than the historical average the all-time highs of wind power production were exceeded," the report stated wind power recorded a new maximum of instantaneous power with 17,056MW at 3:49 pm (2.5 per cent up on the previous record registered in April 2012) and that same day the all-time maximum for hourly energy was also exceeded reaching 16,918MWh March and November wind power generation was the technology that made the largest contribution towards the total energy production of the system." An increase in wind power capacity of 173MW coupled with an increase in solar PV capacity of 140MW and solar thermal capacity of 300MW meant that by the end of the year renewables represented 49.1% of total installed power capacity on the Spanish peninsula the preliminary figures show that power output from combined cycle gas plants fell 34.2% year-on-year coal-fired plants saw generation fall 27.3% The dramatic shift towards renewable generation coupled with a fall in overall power demand of 2.1% led to a similarly drastic reductions in emissions from the peninsular's power sector "The increased weight of renewable energy in the generation mix structure of 2013 compared to the previous year has reduced CO2 emissions of the electricity sector on the Spanish peninsula to 61.4 million tonnes 23.1% lower than in 2012," the report stated The study follows news last year that Portugal had successfully generated over 70% of its power from renewables during the first quarter of the year driven by a surge in wind and hydro power output The latest figures are likely to be seized upon by renewable energy firms as further evidence that the sector can provide a high proportion of power to a modern economy without risk of blackouts One of the most striking images of the heavy rainfall in Malaga province over Easter week was taken early on Monday 1 April at the source of the river Guaro in Periana water flowed abundantly into what is considered the main contribution to La Viñuela reservoir in the Axarquía which supplies 14 towns and villages in the Axarquía had already added around 12 cubic hectometres and on Monday morning it was at 16.21 per cent of its capacity compared to the 16.52 it had the previous Monday "The glass has filled up," mayor of Periana Rafael Torrubia told SUR on Monday visibly "pleased" with the change after the rain which has left 172mm in the town centre in the last seven days and more than 260 in neighbouring Zafarraya The water levels in La Viñuela will mean that the water restrictions that have been in place in districts of Periana including Pollo Pelao Local farmers will also be able to have resources in the coming months after two summers without water from the Guaro river for their vegetable now we are going to be able to supply water without using the well pumps so we will save electricity for a few months," said Torrubia who pointed out that most of the water will end up in La Viñuela."If ten hectometres have already entered the reservoir I calculate that another ten more may enter in the coming weeks," he predicted He also provided a series of explanations of the geology of the area and the Zafarraya sinkholes based on the explanations given by Periana resident Juan Miguel Ortigosa the Llano de Zafarraya area has a subsoil of fractured limestone which forms a deep aquifer the water saturates the aquifers and fills the water table" Comentar es una ventaja exclusiva para registrados Microsoft is making significant strides in expanding its data center presence in Spain The company recently announced its plans to construct a state-of-the-art data center campus in Aragon a development set to boost the region’s digital infrastructure significantly While exact details regarding the location and project timelines weren’t disclosed local sources suggest that Microsoft is eyeing three key sites for development in the Aragon region These sites reportedly include a 63-acre space within the Recycling Technology Park (PTR) as well as lands in La Puebla de Alfindén to the east of Zaragoza and La Muela to the west The comprehensive build-out is expected to span seven years underscoring the company’s commitment to long-term investment in the area situated in northeastern Spain and west of Barcelona Microsoft’s ambitious project in the region is aimed at providing intelligent cloud solutions and services to businesses and public entities across Europe and employment opportunities not only in Aragon but throughout Spain Alberto Granados, President of Microsoft Spain highlights the significance of Microsoft’s investments in Spain emphasizing the potential to promote innovation views Microsoft’s project as a significant contribution to the local economy bringing international relevance and innovation to the region Also read: Skanska UK Awarded €183 Million Contract for Data Centre Fit-Out This data center campus in Aragon is in addition to Microsoft’s upcoming data center region in Madrid which is set to become operational in the near future The Madrid region will feature data centers in the north and east of the Community of Madrid Microsoft is actively expanding its presence in the area with facilities planned in San Sebastian de los Reyes cloud provider to launch a region in Spain Google took the lead by launching a Spanish region in Madrid in May 2022 while Amazon initiated an AWS cloud region in Aragon in November 2022 Oracle opened a Madrid region in September with plans for a second one on the horizon Both Google and Oracle collaborated with Telefonica on their region developments Microsoft’s project aligns with its broader initiative the EU Data Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud This initiative extends Microsoft’s commitment to data residency within the European Union ensuring that not only the residence but also the processing of data from European citizens takes place within the EU This reflects Microsoft’s dedication to data sovereignty The planned campus in Aragon will offer Microsoft’s complete suite of intelligent cloud services catering to both private and public clients in Europe The campus will function as a catalyst for innovation further accelerating the digitalization of organizations across various industries and sizes An analysis by IDC suggests that the new data center campus could significantly contribute to Spain’s GDP potentially adding 8.4 billion euros and creating 69,000 indirect jobs in the period from 2026 to 2030 is well-positioned to become a pivotal region for data center implementation Microsoft is committed to sustainable operations of its data centers aiming to achieve a 100% renewable energy supply for all its operations The company’s cloud services comply with over 100 standards including international regulations like GDPR Microsoft also holds the High-Level Compliance Certification of the National Security Scheme (ENS) coupled with its commitment to sustainability and regulatory compliance highlights its dedication to supporting digital transformation ultimately bolstering the technology industry and the economy in the region and the country as a whole Welcome to Construction Review a portal that serves the building and construction industry through our blog social media presence and print publication Contact us Guest Posting Take down policy