cheap

Bringing fiber to rural Spain does not come cheap. This interactive map tells you exactly how much it cost

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Those of us who live in urban areas take it for granted that we have fiber coverage, but there are many rural areas from Spain where fiber has taken a long time to arrive and even some where they are still waiting for it. To ensure coverage of the entire territory, the government launched subsidies for operators to deploy their network. Now we have a map to know the status of all deployments, interactive and non-profit. The map. It has been developed by Fernando García Álvarez, a software engineer who has contacted us to publicize his creation. It is an independent and non-profit initiative. Its objective was to gather all the information on fiber deployment plans, both the previous PEBA and the current UNICO plans in a single place, something that until now had to be consulted through various sources. His name is Fiber Programs and when we open it we find a heat map of the entire peninsula, with the red areas representing the areas with the greatest coverage and the yellow areas representing the least coverage. Detailed information. To obtain all the information on the different programs you have to zoom in and click on one of them. Here we can see which operator is carrying out the deployment, which plan it belongs to and other more in-depth data such as the total amount of the subsidy and the completion deadline. This is especially useful for those projects that are still underway because it allows you to know when a specific zone will be connected. Subsidies. That in 2026 there will be those who do not have a fiber connection is shocking, but there is a reason why there are still areas without this infrastructure: it is not profitable for operators to bring their infrastructure to an area where there are very few inhabitants. From this need was born the Broadband Extension Program or PEBA. The plan was active from 2013 to 2020 and subsidized almost 800 projects from more than 100 operators. In 2024, the UNICO Broadband plan took over the baton, with more than 18 million euros and with Avatel and Adamo as the main recipients of the aid. Spain and fiber. Although there are some areas left to cover, they are the least. The reality is that 95% of the Spanish territory has access to fiber optics, which places us well ahead of the European average, which is 64%. Our colleagues from Xataka Móvil made a devastating comparison: a town in Soria has better internet than Berlin. Image | Fiber Programs In Xataka | In 2023 Spain tried to create its own “Starlink” to connect the rural world: it has failed miserably

2025 broke the dream of cheap electricity

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At the beginning of 2025, Spain’s energy story was one of absolute success, coming to work only with renewables. But the “Great Blackout” of April 28 threw a jug of cold water on the country’s climate ambitions: greenhouse gas emissions rose 0.6%breaking a years-long trend. How is it possible to emit more when we have more solar panels than ever? The answer lies in a technical paradox: the Spanish electrical system entered into “reinforced mode”prioritizing the stability of gas over the cleanliness of renewables. Gas as a “bodyguard.” After that incident, Red Eléctrica (REE) adopted a “reinforced operating mode”. This adjustment involves intervening in the market to ensure that there are always “firm” plants (gas, nuclear and hydraulic) operating to give inertia and stability to the network tension. The problem is that this decision has marginalized cheap energy. As detailed by the Sustainability Observatory (OS)gas consumption in combined cycles shot up 26% after the blackout. Spain has been burning gas preventively to prevent the system from collapsing, even at times when the sun was abundant. This has caused the curtailment (clean energy wasted because the grid cannot manage it) will triple, going from 1.8% to 7.2% between May and July. The third “rate” in history. This forced dependence on gas has directly hit the pocketbook. According to a study by Facuathe electricity bill for an average user with a regulated tariff (PVPC) became 15.5% more expensive in 2025. With an average annual bill of 975.88 euros, 2025 is the third most expensive year in history, only behind the years of the energy crisis due to the War in Ukraine. The maintenance of this “anti-blackout insurance” has cost 422 million euros in technical extra costs, which companies like Iberdrola they have already started to have an impact on the renewed contracts of its clients. So why is there more energy but the price goes up? Herein lies the great technical paradox of last year. Spain installed 8,852 MW of new renewable power last year, according to REE data. However, the network is saturated since 83.4% of the electrical nodes no more connections allowed. The root of the problem is unbalanced investment. While Europe invests 70 cents in networks for every euro in renewables, Spain only invest 30. In addition, the country ranks 13th in battery capacity in Europe. Without storage, the system is rigid: if the sun hits suddenly, only the gas can react in time. Even domestic self-consumption failed in the April blackout: only 33% of homes they have batterieswhich left millions of users in the dark despite having their panels at full capacity. It is not the only one responsible for the emissions. The OS report points out that the rebound in emissions It’s not just electric. Spain approached 100 million of visitors in 2025, skyrocketing the consumption of kerosene (+5%) and gasoline (+8%). Added to this is a year of climatic extremes: fires They burned 400,000 hectaresreleasing 19 million tons of CO2, four times more than the average. Horizon 2026. The immediate future is not simple. For this new year, an increase in tolls and charges from the Government of up to 12%. In addition, the system faces a new challenge: the massive installation of data centers. In Aragon, these complexes are expected to consume so much energy that will further strain the network. To avoid collapse, the Government has activated “capacity markets”. Basically, gas plants will be paid simply for “being there” and not closing, an expensive but necessary insurance until the planned 2,600 MW of batteries or the synchronous compensators that promise to provide stability without burning methane are deployed. Europe’s laboratory. At the international level, Spain has assumed the vice presidency of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to lead the global transition in the face of the departure of the US under Trump’s mandate. But political leadership contrasts with internal fragility. Spain has shown that it is possible to expel coal from the system, but also that the abundance of cheap energy is useless if there are no cables to transport it or batteries to store it. As a source in the sector succinctly summarizes:: “The mistake was not putting up panels, but forgetting about the networks.” Without this investment, gas will continue to be the owner of the Spanish night and responsible for the electricity bill continuing to break records that no one wants to boast about. Image | freepik and Anton Osolev Xataka | The “reinforced mode” that prevents a new blackout will cost us 422 million euros. Iberdrola has already begun to collect it

China sold cheap batteries for years. The problem is that in the meantime no one built an alternative

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For more than a decade, the world became accustomed to an idea that seemed unquestionable: batteries—the heart of electric cars, of renewable energies, of data centers and of modern warfare— would be increasingly cheaper. China mass-produced them, dominated the technology, controlled critical materials and accepted minimal margins, even losses. For the West, the model was comfortable: import, reduce costs and accelerate the energy transition. That normality, however, has begun to crack. A turning point in the Chinese market. In recent months, several lithium battery manufacturers have begun to announce price increases after almost three years of fierce competition and below-cost sales. According to South China Morning Postthe most visible case is that of Deegares, which reported an increase of 15%, opening a debate on whether the sector is beginning to emerge from the “involution” cycle, a dynamic in which producing more, selling cheaper and earning less had become the norm. The immediate trigger has been the rise in the price of lithium, which has risen around a 70% from its annual minimum. This rebound responds to several overlapping factors: the rise of data centers for artificial intelligence, a rebound in demand for electric vehicles in China and an increasingly explicit intervention by the State to organize the sector. The Chinese Ministry of Industry itself has gathered to the main market players and has promised to accelerate measures to stop the so-called “irrational competition”. A stressed model. Sales prices for energy storage systems in China have plummeted by up to 80% in just three years. Some companies operate with gross margins of 15% to 20% in the domestic market, a far cry from the 40% or 50% common in the United States. The real profitability, analysts cited by SCMP admitwas in exports. And exporting, China has continued to dominate. This year it has managed to sell lithium batteries worth more than $69 billion. According to the analysis of energy expert Gavin Maguire in Reutersthis milestone is explained by the voracious hunger of Germany and the United States for large-scale storage systems, essential to stabilize electrical networks saturated by renewables and data centers. In practice, every new AI data center in Europe or North America starts with a silent dependency: thousands of batteries designed, manufactured and assembled in China. The low price hid an uncomfortable reality. All this time there was a truth that no one said out loud, perhaps because it was so obvious: there was no real Chinese alternative. This new year 2026 will be marked by the massive expansion of data centers that power artificial intelligence, facilities that consume amounts of electricity comparable to that of a small city and that need large-scale batteries to guarantee a continuous supply. Google has installed more than 100 million lithium-ion cells in its data centers, while Microsoft plans to eliminate diesel generators before 2030, replacing them with batteries to meet their climate goals. The forecasts confirm that the risk is not theoretical. The International Energy Agency sums it up crudely. If in 2024 China manufactured 99% of the world’s LFP cells and refined most of the critical materials such as lithium and graphite. For its executive director, Fatih Birol, depend on a single country For a strategic technology, it is a risk comparable to that posed to Europe by its dependence on Russian gas. The Chinese adjustment. Far from retreating, Beijing now seeks to organize the sector without losing its dominance. State intervention translates to braking the most extreme overcapacity, review mining licenses, limit sales at a loss and allow prices to rise to sustainable levels. The objective is not to make batteries abruptly more expensive, but to prevent a strategic industry from self-destructing by competing with itself. Control of raw materials remains the central lever. China process around of 80% of the world’s lithium and produces nearly 90% of the anodes and electrolytes used in batteries. When the United States or Europe impose tariffs, China responds by restricting exports of critical metals. The message is unmistakable: the power lies not only in making batteries, but in controlling every link in the chain. The Western Response. In parallel, the United States and Europe are trying to react. According to Sprott’s reportWestern governments have begun to treat lithium and batteries as strategic assets. Washington has invested directly in mining projectshas multiplied the number of planned gigafactories and has included restrictions on the purchase of Chinese batteries in defense legislation. Europe is following a similar, albeit slower path, supporting local extraction and refining projects and seeking to reduce its dependence on China. Big oil companies like Exxon either Chevron have entered the lithium business, and countries like Germany finance domestic production to ensure supply and reduce geopolitical risks. Still, the consensus among analysts it is clear: replicating the Chinese model will take years. Environmental regulations, labor costs and the absence of centralized industrial planning make competing on price impossible for now. Decoupling, if it comes, will be slow, expensive and politically uncomfortable. A planned domain. It is the direct result of the plan Made in China 2025with which Beijing decided to stop being the world’s cheap factory to become a technological leader. China already dominates solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and lithium batteries. In addition, it controls strategic minerals such as graphite and has vertically integrated the entire value chain. In fact, the Asian giant It is the first “electrostate” in the world: a power whose power is no longer based on oil, but on renewable gigawatts, electrons and batteries. This strategy has reduced its emissions, weakened petrostates and turned its energy industry into a tool of global influence. The true cost of batteries. For years, this low price allowed us to accelerate the global energy transition, but it also created a deep and silent dependency. Now that China begins to organize its market, raise prices and prioritize its own industrial strategy, the world begins to discover the real cost of having delegated the heart of its energy system. Batteries are no … Read more

If the question is whether we will be able to buy a cheap combustion car in 2035, we already have the answer: no.

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The European Commission has presented its proposal for lighten emissions obligations for manufacturers in 2035. It is the confirmation that, if finally approved, Germany has won. And the country has gone on its own in its pressure on the European Union but, in addition, the new proposal reflects the true concerns of its industry. To better understand what has happened, we must remember. In 2022, The European Parliament approved the ban to sell cars that emit CO2 in 2035. The objective was reduce emissions by 100% pollutants target of 2021 and, therefore, that eliminated the possibility of selling any car that used this technology. That is to say, Europe had to jump to the electric car whether it wanted it or not. Some time later, with Germany and Italy putting pressure, the possibility was approved for cars sold from 2035 onwards to use combustion engines powered by efuel. These are synthetic fuels that, supposedly, during their production capture the same or greater amount of CO2 than that emitted by the exhaust pipe. If this is true, the car would be carbon neutral. With the wording that the car must be neutral in carbon emissions, the door was also open to the use of hydrogen cars (both in fuel cell as in format hydrogen combustion). These cars are also carbon neutral for the same reason, but along with their water vapor they do expel certain particles that are harmful to humans such as NOx or fine particles. At the time, the European Union kept a letter. The objectives could be revised and this This is what the European Commission has done. This has approved a proposal that has to be ratified by the European Parliament and the States (Council of Europe). Although it is not, therefore, official, it does anticipate that we will see changes in the rule. This regulation has several key points: The carbon emissions target is reduced from 100% to 90% compared to 2021 figures. The door opens to create a category that has become popular as eCarsmall electric cars (less than 4.2 meters), with their own regulation that will count as 1.3 cars when calculating the fleet’s emissions. The objectives of reducing emissions by 55% in 2030 are postponed to 2032. In those years, a space opens up in which manufacturers will have to comply with the proposed objectives by the end of 2032, with an average of those three years. A measure similar to the one that has been opened in the period 2025-2027. And this completely defines which cars can be sold. The data As we said, Germany has gotten away with these pressures. And in recent days we have seen two clearly differentiated fronts. Spain and France were willing to maintain regulation just as it was. Another group, cwith Germany in the leadproposed the revision of the objectives but the country, however, did not sign the letter of the six dissident countries in which Europe was asked to reverse its environmental policies regarding automobiles. Now, with the requirements that are proposed by the European Commission We know that, if it is finally approved, cars with combustion engines will continue to be sold. But as long as the average fleet of cars on the street guarantees that 90% reduction in emissions, which in practice leaves sales in a vast majority of electric cars punctuated by pure combustion vehicles. It must be taken into account that reducing CO2 polluting emissions by 90% compared to 2021 means that the fleet average will not be able to exceed 11.6 gr/km of CO2 (in 2021 it was 116 gr/km). That implies a ridiculous consumption of just 0.5 l/100 km of gasoline. A figure that is almost impossible to achieve for a specific car. Until now, plug-in hybrids were around 1l/100 km and CO2 averages of 50 gr/km in their official approvals. An already very high figure but will rise with the entry of the new calculation system multiplying the record in CO2 emissions. To compensate for this, a car only has one option left: increase its battery. The intention for 2035 is that plug-in hybrids will have a lot greater electrical autonomy. To give us an idea, the plug-in hybrid with the greatest autonomy on the market right now is the Lynk&Co 08 with 200 approved electric kilometers. Despite everything, Its CO2 emissions remain at 23 gr/km of CO2. That is, they double the maximum allowed in 2035. With this data, the company has to sell one electric car for each of these plug-in hybrids to be right within the limit of permitted CO2 emissions. But, in addition, Homologation criteria will be much stricter from 2028. So much so that a plug-in hybrid car that in 2021 registered around 50 gr/km of CO2 is expected to exceed 120 gr/km of CO2 with the new approval. Therefore, Lynk&Co should sell more than two electrics for each plug-in of the aforementioned Lynk&Co 08. The other option for an electrified vehicle with a combustion engine is the extended range electric vehicle. This type of car is, in practice, a plug-in hybrid but its combustion engine is designed for emergencies. So far we have seen cars like the Mazda MX-30 sold under this name but, in reality, they have a 50 liter fuel tank. What will have to arrive will be more similar to the first BMW i3 REX (the version with range extender) whose tank was 9 liters and, therefore, it was designed for an emergency. Expensive, very expensive Taking all this into account, it is clear that emissions obligations have been relaxed but it is still essential for manufacturers to continue selling a large number of electric vehicles. In practice, the best news for them is that 2025 fines postponed to 2027 and, therefore, they have two more years to comply with the obligation to place the average of emissions from its fleet at 93.6 gr/km of CO2. The plan was to fine 95 euros for each gram exceeded and … Read more

lots of energy and very cheap

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It seemed like the United States had the upper hand in the AI ​​race. Having the most advanced chips is undoubtedly an important asset, but there is something even more critical: having energy to power those chips. And if anyone has energy, it’s China. master move. The control that the US exercises over NVIDIA and other advanced semiconductor manufacturers seemed to make this power a great candidate to win the AI ​​race. However, in this game of geopolitical chess, China has moved a piece that challenges that reality. The Asian giant’s strategic advantage is not in the chips, but in something more fundamental and massive: a colossal and enviable energy supply. Lots of energy and very cheap. Between 2010 and 2024, China increased its energy production more than the rest of the world combined. Last year alone it generated more than twice as much electricity as the United States, which is saying something. That difference has made OpenAI I already spoke of the “electron gap” (electron gap), and that translates into a brutal cost advantage for data centers: while an operator in Virginia pays between 7 and 9 cents per kW/h, their Chinese counterparts pay 3 cents. The long term works. China has shown that Your long-term strategy continues to bear fruit. In this case, this energy advantage is not an accident either, but rather the result of state planning that crystallized in the plan of 2021 known as “Data from the East, Calculation from the West”. What they did was take advantage of the vast energy resources of the country’s interior, especially in regions like Lower Mongolia, to power data centers that serve demand in the more populated eastern part of the country. What were once just steppes are now in many cases infinite wind farms and transmission lines that supply energy to more than 100 data centers in operation or under development. Power makes up for lack of advanced chips. For Chinese companies, access to cheap energy is especially important. In fact, since you cannot match the performance of advanced chips like the H100 with your own chips, what you do is group thousands of your own less advanced chips, taking advantage of the fact that what is “left over” is energy. We have the perfect example in Huawei’s CloudMatrix 384 cluster that makes use of your Ascend chips. It consumes four times more energy, and although that would be an unsustainable waste for the US, for China it is a viable way to compete. Satya Nadella already warned of the problem. China continues to invest in expanding its network and that electron gap can widen. Morgan Stanely predicts that around 560 billion will be spent until 2030, and Goldman Sachs affirms that in 2030 China will have 400 GW capacitytriple what global data centers will need. The room for maneuver to continue expanding that facet without problems. Meanwhile, some executives like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella already warned weeks ago that it doesn’t matter if the US has the most advanced components when there is no power for so many chips. Time is in China’s favor. The contrast between both powers is clear. The US has the technology, but its energy expansion is hampered by bureaucracy and insufficient energy transmission capacity. This has precisely made AI companies look for chestnuts with solutions like SMRbut time is on China’s side because they continue to work tirelessly on the development of its own advanced chips of AI and manufacturing technologies latest generation. The longer that race lasts, the more opportunities there will be for the Asian giant to close the component gap. Image | Antonio Garcia In Xataka | In the midst of a trade war, there is a battle that China has already won: that the world depends on its new energy

make Apple’s memory configurations look cheap

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For years, criticizing Apple’s pricing policy has been a more than justified constant: we have seen how the company charged $100 per a leap in capacity that it cost them ten, or asked astronomical figures such as 690 euros for a 2 TB SSD which in the market cost 100. However, the current memory crisis has turned the tables: the shortage is so serious and the inflation so aggressive that Apple’s rates are beginning to seem even “economical” compared to the competition. Context. As we have been telling in Xataka, the memory industry is facing a critical scenario. The AI ​​fever has caused chipmakers such as Samsung and SK Hynix to prioritize the production of HBM memory for servers and AI GPUs, leaving aside the consumer market. The result is a supply deficit that has skyrocketed prices by up to 300% for some components, forcing manufacturers like Xiaomi to warn that our next mobile will be more expensive. Others like Micron have not brought good news either: in fact, the manufacturer closes its Crucial consumer division to focus on the lucrative data sector. Dell and Lenovo raise prices, Apple freezes. The first chip to fall has been Dell. According to industry reportsthe company plans a price increase of 15-20% this month, while Lenovo has begun to warn its customers of imminent increases for early 2026 precisely due to the DRAM shortage. But the most striking thing is not the general increase, but the cost of the expansions. Dell is currently charging a surcharge of $550 for going from 16 to 32 GB of RAM in some of its XPS laptops, a figure that easily exceeds the $400 that Apple asks for the same jump in its MacBook Air. Bounce effect and an exception. The current situation has led to paradoxes never seen before: the traditionally expensive Apple maintains its prices stable (for the moment and thanks to already high margins), while the PC world suffers from market volatility. The Framework Modular Laptop Manufacturer He took the opportunity to point out the play: denounces that Dell’s prices are “abusive” and highlights that they charge 85% less for the same memory upgrade. However, even they warn that their cheap inventory will run out sooner rather than later. A future of pressured margins. Although Lenovo is well positioned to weather the storm thanks to its scale, financial analysts They warn that the rise in memory prices threatens their margins and end-user demand for the next 12-18 months. With Samsung and SK Hynix refusing to increase production To avoid a new bubble, it seems that the industry has entered a phase where paying premiums for RAM will be the new normal. This makes Apple’s historical “dunks” seem, ironically, like a refuge for its stability. Cover image | Composition with images of Applesfera and Andrey Matveev for Unsplash In Xataka | We have been assembling computers in the same way for many years. The RAM memories of the future promise to change that and more speed

Putting four chickens in the yard seemed like a good idea to have cheap eggs. Bird flu just changed the rules of the game

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From November 13, 2025, there is no poultry farm in the country that can be outdoors. With mass confinement, the Government wants to contain the spread of the H5N1 bird flu. And it makes sense: so far this season, 14 outbreaks have already been recorded in poultry, several in captive birds and dozens in wild birds. The problem is everything that falls under the radar. “What do I do with my chickens?” In Spain, at least from 2024, all chickens must be registered. And yes, that includes ‘self-consumption’ chickens; some animals that, according to the data, they represent only 0.77% of the census (but all experts know there are many more). A report from El País from the spring of this year confirmed that “the figures do not reflect reality and that a large part of self-consumers have birds (especially the ISA Brown species) without census.” This has meant that in a context in which self-consumption does not have inspections (and lives unaware of animal health regulation), the doubts and risks have grown exponentially. As Cristina García Casado explained in InfoLibrethe question most frequently asked by veterinarians across the country is “what do I do with my chickens?” And the answer is very simple: confine them. Because the regulations do not understand sizes: a backyard chicken infected by contact with a wild bird can be just as big a problem as any other type of chicken. Or maybe more. After all, the European authorities they continue to qualify the risk to the general population as low; but they raise it to low-moderate for people in direct contact with infected birds or contaminated environments. Having unmonitored poultry increases the risk to the “civilian” population and if we are realistic we will recognize that they cannot be monitored. The problem has names and surnames: at least when it comes to the flu, all those domestic pens have the same sanitary requirements, but much less infrastructure. The ‘boom’ of homemade eggs. We must remember that this does not happen in a vacuum. The truth is that in recent years we have lived a real ‘boom’ in self-consumption chickens. It is the confluence of the “happy chickens” movements with the response of many citizens to a price that does nothing but go up. According to the National Institute of Statistics, have gone up 15.9% so far this year and, according to the OCUthe growth has been 105% compared to 2021. And, be careful, we are not talking about a luxury product. We are talking about what may be one of the proteins cheaper and more accessible of the world. Faced with this ‘ovoflation’, the accounts are clear: “a hen costs about nine euros, it is easy to raise and maintain with fruit, vegetables and feed, and it lays an egg every 25 hours.” How can there not be a problem? What to do if I have a chicken coop for self-consumption? If we are in that situation (or are thinking about setting up our own domestic corral) there are some things to keep in mind: Whether larger or smaller, the corral must be registered in the REGA (General Registry of Livestock Operations). Implement confinement and biosecurity measures: separate chickens from any contact with wild birds; control inputs and outputs; record all changes in a log book. Improve cleaning conditions, more frequent bed renewal and tightening daily management protocols. Introduce wellness programs to contain the problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle. But, above all, be extremely vigilant. There are many warning signs (apathy, drop in production, high mortality or flu symptoms). Therefore, it is best to be alert. Anything can happen. Image | Finn Mund In Xataka | H5N1 bird flu unleashes a massacre in Antarctica: half of the female seals have already disappeared

If you want to buy a very cheap bicycle, it’s easy: go to Portugal

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Spain and Portugal share just over 1,200 kilometers of border, an extensive permeable ‘strip’, full of history, economy and coexistence which in 2023 the bicycle sector began to view with some suspicion from this side of the peninsula. The Association of Brands and Bicycles of Spain warned about this three years ago (AMBE) in a statement resounding statement in which he stated that this proximity and extensive border could become a poisoned gift overnight. The reason: around that time Portugal gave a severe snip the VAT that applies to their bikes. From taxing them at 23%, they went on to apply 6%. The problem is that in Spain (and despite the requests of the sector) the same merchandise bears a VAT of 21%. The other ‘cycle tourism’. The controversy It’s not exactly newbut The Confidential has shaken it again with an interesting article in which he warns of an apparently increasing phenomenon: Spanish cyclists who suddenly decide to take the car, travel dozens or hundreds of kilometers until crossing the border and, once in Portugal, buy a good bicycle. The reason? The savings. Yes, they spend money on fuel and invest hours behind the wheel, but the tax differences on both sides of the border make all of that compensate. After all, in Spanish stores they pay a VAT of 21%, while in those in Portugal that rate is three times less: 6%. And that difference is more than considerable when we talk about models that cost hundreds or even several thousand euros. @kom_rivas How to buy Van Rysel at Decathlon Portugal and save 15% 🚴🏻‍♂️ John Ravine 🎥 Rodi #cycling #cycling #cyclingvideos ♬ original suono – UMC “I have saved 500 euros”. The Confidential echoes several testimonies of two-wheel lovers. And they all point in the same direction: depending on where you live, traveling to Portugal may take more or less time, but it is worth it. “I got up at 4:30 in the morning. I drove five hours and crossed the border to buy a bicycle in Portugal. I spent 70 euros on gasoline, but I saved 500 euros on the bike,” says one. Another fan, an 18-year-old Spaniard who trains at a cycling school, explains how he “tied” his father to cross the border just to get an RCR Pro, a road bike. “We saved almost a thousand euros,” he boasts on TikTok. On the table from 2022. A quick Google search shows that these are not isolated cases. In forums, specialized blogs and social networks there is a good handful of references to the topic: cyclists interested in knowing whether or not it really pays to buy a bicycle in Portugal or what directly counts what has been saved there thanks to the VAT difference between both countries. Not all are new comments. Some date back to the end of 2022, just when AMBE raised his voice and warned the Government of the risks of not following in Portugal’s footsteps: “We put the future of thousands of jobs, stores, brands and Spanish producers at risk,” emphasized. In his day Brussels decided give green light to countries that want to apply a reduced VAT in the sector, a measure that a priori had the endorsement of the PSOE, but which has not caught on in Spain. Is it that common? Good question. Difficult answer. If we search on TikTok we find videos which confirm that the ‘trick’ of buying bikes in Portugal to benefit from its taxation is well known among fans. However, a more diffuse message comes from the sector. In fact, there are those who say that today it is something anecdotal, although things can change in a short time. “We receive messages from cyclists who are going to Portugal to buy a bicycle, but the risk is that this will get worse and affect the industry,” they point out from AMBE. Stock earrings. There would be several factors at play. Not all brands are the same, but if there is something that the sector is waiting for, it is how the market will respond when the stock accumulated after the pandemic is released, when there were a spike in sales (2020 and 2021) that deflated during the following years. To dispose of this post-pandemic surplus, businesses in Spain have not hesitated to resort to discounts, a practice that has softened the blow of the VAT reduction in Portugal. At the end of the day, buying there involves the cost of travel, which is higher the more kilometers the buyer must travel. In the union there are those who believe that as this stock adjusts the shadow of the VAT to 21% will weigh more on sales. In your opinion we will begin to notice it in 2026. The example of Portugal. Portugal has not only managed to stand out at the community level for your VAT reduction to bicycles, which went from 23 to 6% years ago. It also stands out for its producing muscle. It shows it clearly Eurostat. Its latest available data dates from 2023, but does not leave room for many doubts: of the 9.7 million bicycles manufactured in the European Union in 2023, Portugal contributed 1.8 million. In second place is Romania (1.5 million), followed by Italy (1.2) and Poland (800,000). Spain occupies seventh place. In Spain the group has asked from the beginning the reduction of VAT on bicycles, a claim in which he is not alone. A recent report The Institute of Economics of Barcelona points out among its proposals to achieve more sustainable mobility, reducing VAT on the purchase, rental and repair of bicycles, as well as a 50% deduction for businessmen and professionals who integrate them. In April AMBE published a balance which shows that in 2024 the industry recorded a drop in turnover of 6.5%, which distances it from the data it reached in 2021. Images | Martin Magnemyr (Unsplash), Eurostat and AMBE In Xataka | Portugal’s radical proposal to stop touristification: an underwater … Read more

make your energy incredibly cheap

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At dawn, in the Alxa Desert, in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, a huge white structure began to rise above the horizon. It was not a balloon or a meteorological experiment: it was a 5,000 square meter kite, designed to generate electricity hundreds of meters high. No blades. Last Wednesday, the test of what is the first Chinese national project dedicated to developing high-altitude wind energy took place. The kite, developed by China Energy Engineering Corporationwas raised with helium balloons to a height of about 300 meters before being successfully deployed. In addition to the gigantic main model, two additional 1,200 m² kites were tested. According to Global Timesthe test consisted of fully deploying and retracting the kites, an essential step to validate their operation in real conditions. During the test, engineers measured the tension of the system and the aerodynamic behavior of the fabric to collect data that will be used to fine-tune the final design. Cao Lun, head of the national high-altitude wind power project, told Xinhua —cited by SCMP— that the test campaign will allow “the kite to be optimized and the foundations to be deployed to deploy the complete system and define its standards.” A new energy frontier. Studies from the Carnegie Institution for Science They estimate that high altitude winds They contain enough energy to supply global demand more than 100 times. The reason is simple: in the upper layers of the atmosphere the winds are faster, more constant and more energetically dense. Added to this is another decisive argument. According to CCTVkite systems can reduce land use by 95%, save 90% of the steel needed in a conventional wind farm and reduce the final cost per kilowatt-hour by around 30%. The potential is such that a single 10-megawatt system could power more than 10,000 homes a year, without towers weighing hundreds of tons or extensive foundations. How do these kites work? The technology tested belongs to the category of terrestrial systems: the kite does not carry a generator in the air, but rather transmits its traction through a cable that moves a generator located on dry land. The process follows a mechanism of “shoot and collect”: Helium balloons raise the kite to operating height. The aerodynamic fabric unfolds and captures powerful winds. The traction tightens the cable and rotates the generator. To retract it, the kite adopts a posture of minimum resistance, reducing energy expenditure to a minimum. The cycle repeats itself. Someone came forward: Ireland. This time it was not China, as so many other times, but Ireland. The Dutch company Kitepower tested 60 m² kites capable of rising up to 425 meters, generating electricity through a figure-eight flight pattern—similar to kitesurfing—that maximizes traction. Each kite can produce up to 30 kW per hour. However, the differences are notable because European kites are much smaller than Chinese ones, European systems stand out because they can be deployed without civil works. Furthermore, the European objective is to take these kites to islands and remote communities that today depend on diesel. On the other hand, the Asian giant seeks to feed entire cities from the heights. Is the future of energy in the sky? If these giant kites manage to take off not only in tests, but in real production, we could be facing a new way of generating renewable energy: light, cheap, scalable and capable of using an almost infinite resource. Perhaps, soon, wind farms will not be measured by the height of their towers, but by the size of the kites that fly through the sky. Image | XinhuaNews Xataka | The immediate future of Airbus involved the green hydrogen aircraft. It’s not so safe anymore

China is quietly winning the AI ​​race thanks to something very simple: cheap energy

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“China is going to win the artificial intelligence race,” warned Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia. Many thought he was exaggerating, interested in fueling demand for his chips. But, as analyst June Yoon explained in her column for the Financial TimesHuang’s argument contains an uncomfortable truth: the availability of electricity—not chips—is becoming the critical factor for the development of AI. A model like GPT-4 can consume more than 460,000 megawatt-hours per year, the equivalent of the energy consumption of 35,000 American homes, according to a study. The world’s data centers—already colossal—could double their electricity consumption before 2030. And that changes the rules of the game. When there are plenty of chips, but there are no plugs. The race for AI It started with a GPU fever. Big tech companies rushed to buy every Nvidia chip available, but they soon discovered something more worrying: there weren’t enough sockets to connect them. Satya Nadella himself, CEO of Microsoft, he said it bluntly: “The biggest problem we have now is not excess chips, but energy.” Electricity demand has skyrocketed so much that Google, Microsoft and Amazon are already contemplating build nuclear reactors to keep your servers on. The paradox sums up the moment well: the digital leadership of the West encounters a physical limit, that of cheap energy. Energy as a new geopolitics. Analyst June Yoon throw a question that reorders the technological map: what if the AI ​​race had nothing to do with chips, but with electricity? If the last century was defined by oil, this one will be defined by the current China no longer lives off oil: generates it. It has gone from being a petrostate dependent on crude oil to becoming the first electrostate on the planet. More than one quarter of your electricity It comes from renewable sources and its network is growing at a speed that no other country can match. Now that energy sovereignty fuels a new front: artificial intelligence. How did you find the formula? Since September, the Chinese Government Subsidizes up to 50% of energy costs of data centers that use national chips. The inland provinces—Guizhou, Gansu, Inner Mongolia—have become “electric hearts” of Chinese AI: there energy is abundant and cheapand local governments offer historically low rates of just 0.4 yuan per kilowatt-hour. The measure has a dual purpose: Compensate for the lower efficiency of domestic chips compared to Nvidia’s. Promote technological independence in the midst of a trade war. As Bloomberg has detailedthese regions are connected by ultra-high voltage (UHV) lines that transport renewable energy from the interior to the coastal areas where big technology companies, such as Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance, are concentrated. The goal is clear: ensure abundant, low-cost energy for AI training clusters. According to Rystad Energythe electricity consumption of data centers could more than double before 2030, reaching 1,800 terawatt-hours in 2040. Beijing is preparing to absorb it. The result is a planned, centralized energy ecosystem designed to scale AI. An example is the Talatan Solar Parkwhich extends like a sea of ​​metal mirrors: more than 600 square kilometers of panels that are combined with wind and hydroelectric parks. From there, the power travels along high-voltage lines to data centers on the coast. It is a postcard of the new Chinese power: sun, wind and silicon. China’s electrical advantage. The strategy is also working in the markets. According to Bloombergshares of Chinese power companies have risen up to 40% in a week, driven by demand for AI data centers. UBS forecasts that electricity demand in China will grow 8% annually until 2028. Meanwhile, in Washington, the Trump administration has launched an AI Action Plan to accelerate the construction of data centers and remove obstacles to energy projects. But, as FT analysts point outchip improvements are stuck in single digits, while Chinese renewable energy grows by double digits every year. The power is in the socket. In the race for artificial intelligence, chips are the brain. But the heart beats with electricity. The United States retains leadership and has the best semiconductors (for now); China, the network that keeps them on. As June Yoon wroteall the technological superpowers in history—from coal England to oil America—were built on a source of cheap energy. Today, artificial intelligence needs electricity as it once needed steam. And on that new board, China seems to have found the key: plug in the future before anyone else. Image | Pixabay and Hanwha Xataka | SoftBank abandons the king of chips in its prime. And he bets everything on OpenAI

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