Applying for a blue badge

ties will give special dispen sation, but essentially you need to apply for a new blue badge.

The disabled parking per mit is non transferable and you can use it as a driver or as a passenger, placing it on view inside the car. You can then park in dis abled parking spaces and in;

• Loading and unload ing zones with no time limit

• Blue parking (ORA) zones with no fee payable

• In some cities you will be able to park in restricted traffic areas How to apply for the dis abled parking badge the Tarjeta Europea de Esta cionamiento

• Go to your town hall where they will tell you of the requirements, what documentation you need and they give you an appli cation form. It can be re quested in any country of the European Union and can be used to park in any EU country.

• Make an appoint ment to apply, it may be in person or online.

• You must be regis tered on the appropriate padron (empadronamiento)

• You will need recogni tion of your disability, that you obtain through your doctor, the degree of dis ability must be at least 33 per cent.

• If you are visually im paired, your recognized ophthalmologist must issue you with a certificate.

• You will need to sub mit two passport size pho tographs.

• And complete the corresponding application form.

There are stiff penalties for the misuse and falsifica tion of the disability card. The regulation of the blue badge in Spain is covered by the Royal Decree 1056/ 2014 of December 12.

Breath of fresh air

SPAIN could become a green hydrogen power house thanks to its po tential in offshore wind energy. The national government approved the first Marine Spatial Plan (MSP) on Thurs day, March 16, aiming to increase floating wind turbines.

The plan aims to re serve almost 5,000 kilo metres squared of space at sea for floating wind turbines. It will al so meet criteria set out in the National Integrat ed Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), which aims to achieve be tween 1 and 3 GW of offshore wind energy by the end of the decade, a technology that could be key to the development of green hydrogen projects.

However, floating wind turbines are costly due to the specific ma terials required and en vironmentalists have al so raised concerns about the impact of floating wind turbines on the landscape. Despite the chal lenges, Spain is moving forward with offshore wind farms, which could be critical for the country’s future hydro gen projects.