suffocating Archives

There is a Europe that is suffocating to pay for housing and another that lives in peace. And this map shows the differences

January 17, 2026 by usatoday24

Beyond the political ups and downs, corruption, unemployment, the war in Ukraine, or the (increasingly) convulsive scenario of international geopolitics, from time to time The CIS reminds us that there is a much more everyday problem that keeps us Spaniards up at night: access to housing. At the end of 2025 39.9% of those surveyed by the organization pointed out housing as “the main problem” facing the country. And it is normal if you take into account the mismatch between supply and demand, the pressure that carries out tourist rentals and (above all) the sharp rise in prices of recent years. Every time we talk about the residential market, however, the same question arises: beyond the exact cost of the square meter (m2), calculated by the General Council of Notaries, the executive or portals like IdealisticHow “unaffordable” is accommodation in Spain? What economic effort does it require from families? Is it more or less than what other European households must assume? Getting perspective Type of housing (in m2) available spending 40% of monthly income. ESPON, the program who is dedicated to studying cohesion of the EU, has published a series of maps that help answer these questions in a quick, direct and, above all, visual way. To prepare them, two parameters have been basically set: the prices of the real estate market for sales and rentals and the income data published by Eurostat. Everything divided by regions. By crossing them the organism has been able to carry out two calculations. The first is to estimate what type of housing (in m2) a person who allocates 40% of their income to this purpose can rent in each EU region. The second is what percentage of their rent that same tenant should dedicate if they wanted a 100 m2 house. Percentage of monthly income necessary to rent a 100 m2 home. ESPON does not stop there. He has also transferred those same questions to the buying and selling market residential. That is, what type of housing could a person willing to invest 40% of their annual income for an entire decade afford? And how many years would you have to endure that same budgetary effort if you wanted to buy a 100 m2 apartment? In both cases the maps are similar and they leave behind a series of conclusions, such as the profound differences that exist within the same country. “Regions containing and surrounding capital cities such as Paris, Berlin, Lisbon and Madrid tend to be less affordable compared to the rest of the nation. Additionally, coastal regions tend to be less affordable, which is also clearly seen in the Netherlands and Germany, Portugal, Spain and France.” Available housing (m2) investing 40% of the income for 10 years. Years necessary to buy a 100 m2 home investing 40% of the income. For example, while a Madrid resident willing to invest 40% of his annual income in housing would need between 20 and 25 years To pay for a 100 m2 house, a resident of the province of Teruel would need at most ten years of effort. In Barcelona it would need around 20-25 years while on the other side of the peninsula, in Pontevedra, between 15 and 20 years would be enough. The worst part in Spain is Malaga, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, where ESPON calculates that on average a buyer would need to invest 40% of their annual income for more than three and a half decades. A very similar effort would have to be endured by the inhabitants of the Algarve, Setúbal, part of the Paris area, Monaco, Corsica or different points spread across Eastern Europe, where ESPON itself recognizes that “quite unaffordable” areas are concentrated. If we talk about the rental market, the panorama It’s not very different. A Madrid resident who would like to rent a 100 m2 apartment would need to dedicate (on average) between 80 and 90% of their income to it. The situation is worse in coastal points, such as Barcelona, Huelva, Malaga and Eastern European regions. In the provinces of Zamora or Huesca they would be enough between 30 and 40%which is closer to the debt ceiling level than recommend assuming the experts. Images | Quique Olivar (Unsplash) and ESPON In Xataka | It is not a country for Spaniards: Madrid and Catalonia are losing national population while gaining foreign population

Solar energy and the price of light are suffocating it

April 16, 2025 by usatoday24

Europe opted for the wind. For years, wind turbines were symbol of the energy transition in the continent; The spearhead of the European renewable industry. But something has been crooked. Wind energy, especially offshore, has stopped its expansion dry While photovoltaic solar grows wildlyapparently unstoppable. A very unequal career. After a few years growing in parallel, the plot beat wind in facilities at the beginning of this decade. Since then, he has been adding between four and five times more capacity than wind every year. They are complementary energies (the wind blows even at night), but it is being an unequal race. Not to say a beating. In 2024, Europe installed more than 65 GW of photovoltaic solar capacity. At the same time, expanded its wind capacity in 16 GWless than the previous year, but in the line of the last 20 years. The industry has gathered. 16,000 industry members gathered in Copenhagen a few days ago to discuss it, a new record of attendees at the Windeurope Biennial Conference. Giants like Orsted asked for a pact for marine wind: according to Bloombergthe most affected branch of the sector. They want long -term contracts supported by governments that guarantee fixed prices for electricity, which gives us a key to the problem: many projects do not take off for financial uncertainty. Wind energy (black) and solar (yellow) facilities since 2000. Image: Bloomberg Electricity too cheap? Europe already has so much renewable capacity that, when the wind blows, wind turbines flood the cheap electricity marketsinking prices (Sometimes until they make them negative), which discourages new investments. Without mechanisms to manage that oversu Green hydrogen production), Building more wind in certain European countries ceases to be profitable. It is not the only problem. Beef by the increase in steel price, the rise in interest rates and complex logistics to transport palas and towers, the wind industry has seen its offices fired. Building wind farms, especially in the sea, is today much more expensive than a few years ago. Wind is also exposed to greater bureaucracy and public opposition than solar. Permits to install wind farms remain a bureaucratic crucis in many regions (if not, tell Galicia). To which the local opposition is added due to the landscape impact, an obstacle that the solar panels (although they also have their own) raffle more easily. A solar sponator. While wind fight against wind and tide (never better), photovoltaic solar lives its golden age thanks, above all, to mass production in China. The oversight has Negative consequences for Chinese companiesbut in Europe we only see the good side: the solar panels are getting cheaperaccessible and efficient. They can also be installed almost anywhere: roofs, wasteland, facades … and its deployment is much faster and modular than that of a wind farm. Self -consumption and energy communities shoot thanks to these facilities, which also explains the decoupling between solar capacity and wind capacity. A global trend. In the rest of the world Three quarters of the same occurs. While global solar facilities grew 34% in 2024, wind turbines barely added 5% capacity. For Europe, which has a strong wind industry and very demanding climatic objectives, it is very bad news. Although solar grows faster, wind usually has a larger plant factor; That is, it produces more energy by megavatio installed throughout the year. They are also complementary energy sources: the wind usually blows stronger in winter and at night, just when the lot falters. We need both to decarbonize the network in a stable and safe way. In Xataka | Europe has installed so much renewable energy that now has an unusual problem: too cheap electricity

Log In

Sign In

Forgot password?

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections