Spanish ‘Energy-free’
apartments win global
award
An apartment block in the province
of Zaragoza is the second in Spain
to win the Passivhaus Certificate,
a global energy-efficiency award
given to residential properties
which use little or no power.
Based across the borders of
the towns of Valdespartera,
Casablanca and Montecanal, the
Residencial Scenia II is made up
of 26 flats with as swimming pool,
spread out over 13,576 square
metres (33.5 acres) of land and
is the brainchild of developers
LOBE Group. ‘Passive Houses’ are
homes which use practically no
energy and supply themselves with
power, with year-round indoor
temperatures of 20ºC to 25ºC
guaranteed without switching on
any heating or air-conditioning
apparatus. From: ThinkSpain
They save about 90% on
typical energy bills for standard
residential properties, or 75% on
new builds, as well as offering
multiple benefits for comfort,
health and quality of life, LOBE
Group says.
Brussels gives Spain an
ultimatum to clean up its air
The European Commissioner for
the Environment, Karmenu Vella,
has summoned nine countries to
Brussels which he plans to bring
to justice for their breaches of air
pollution standards. In Spain the
problems are centred in Madrid
and Barcelona and associated
with nitrogen dioxide, that is,
with traffic. Before bringing the
nine breaching states to the EU
Court of Justice, the Commission
has given them one last chance
: to present their plans against
pollution before the end of next
week. Basically, Brussels is