Quintas Energy, set up as a Spanish subsidiary of Quintas Wealth Management, is pitching itself to punters looking "beyond property" for a longterm investment.

The Spanish government recently strengthened its commitment to encouraging investment in renewables, focusing in particular on solar energy, by guaranteeing a long-term minimum price of 0.44 per kilowatt-hour for electricity generated from solar and sold onto Spain's electricity grid. That represents more than six times the going rate of consumer prices.

Declan O'Halloran claims investors "are set" to see a 11% minimum annual return, with a 200,000 investment netting an income return of 1.9m over 35 years.

The scheme leverages the Spanish government's subsidies, which look stable over at least the medium term.

The plan is to put solar modules on tractors in rural areas, initially between Seville and Madrid.

Each site needs 2000 square metres to generate 100KW of electricity using photovoltaic cells.

O'Halloran insists the scheme will buy only solar modules made by German manufacturers, even though less expensive modules are made in China by companies including Suntech. The main concern is a long-term warranty for units that are supposed to be designed for a minimum lifespan of 25 years.

The initial plan is to construct four megawatts of generating capacity, but O'Halloran says this may expand up to 150MW over time. Quintas plans to have the first units on line by 2008.

Quintas partnered with Ernst & Young in identifying the solar opportunity under the Spanish subsidy programme and has financial banking from Banco Santander, it said.