• The Museum presented the first results of its "Iluminando el Prado/Lighting the Prado " project today. This initiative will involve replacing the existing halogen lights used for the works until now with LED technology. This project funded by the Fundación Iberdrola will allow the Prado to achieve a higher level of energy efficiency, enhance the material conservation of the works on display and enable them to be viewed in conditions that are more similar to natural sunlight.
  • This evening, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Isabel García Tejerina, will be attending the official launch of the project and presenting the Chairman of the Royal Board of Trustees of the Prado Museum, José Pedro Pérez Llorca; the Director of the Prado Museum, Miguel Zugaza; and the Chairman of IBERDROLA, Ignacio Galán, with a certificate of enrolment in the Carbon Footprint Register System for the Prado Museum. The event will also be attended by the Chairman of the Fundación Iberdrola, Manuel Marín.

Following stages 0 and 1 of the project, the rooms in the southern wing on the ground floor of the Villanueva building at the Prado Museum have already been equipped with LED lighting technology with sponsorship from the Fundación IBERDROLA.

This initiative is the first of its kind in Spain and a reference throughout Europe on account of its comprehensive nature. It consists of replacing the existing halogen lights with a modern LED lighting system that not only allows to improve the conservation of the works by reducing the damage factor by 20.4%, but also enables better viewing due to the enhanced quality of the light.

From the environmental perspective, this lighting system will allow for annual energy savings of 75% by the end of 2017 and avoid the emission of some 320 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. It will also reduce maintenance costs, as these devices have a useful life of 50,000 hours compared to the 1,000 hours offered by halogen lights.

Now that stages 0 and 1 of the project are over, the following rooms have been equipped with the new lighting: 60A, 61, 61A, 61B, 62, 62A, 62B, 63, 63A, 63B, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 75, which house 19th century collections and some of Goya's later works, including The Second of May 1808 in Madrid, the Third of May 1808 in Madrid and the Black Paintings.

To illustrate the project, The Execution of Torrijos and his Companions at Málaga Beach by Antonio Gisbert, a large oil painting measuring 390 cm x 601 cm in room 61A of the Villanueva building, will be on display for a month with the two types of lighting combined (halogen lighting on the left hand side and LED lights on the right). The lighting systems may also be compared in other rooms, such as no. 63, where just one of the works is lit up with the new technology. This will enable visitors to notice the differences in the quality of the chromatic reproduction of the works, as well as the visibility of the volume and the distance between the foreground and the background.

First Spanish museum to join the Carbon Footprint Register System

One of the goals of the Prado Museum is to implement an environmental policy that is capable of minimising the impact of its activities and therefore of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. As part of its commitment to combating climate change on a horizontal basis, the Prado Museum has drawn up plans of action with specific measures designed to enhance energy efficiency and reduce emissions. It is the first Spanish museum to have been entered in the Carbon Footprint Register System.

Implementing these measures allowed the Prado Museum to avoid some 62.9366 t CO2 eq (tonnes of CO2 equivalents) in emissions, i.e. by 4.55%. It also consumed 117,006 kWh less of natural gas, 15,206 kWh less of diesel oil and 2,569.20 m3 less of water than in 2013, i.e. reductions of 23.57%, 3.31% and 5.46%, respectively.

About the Fundación IBERDROLA

The Fundación Iberdrola, www.fundacioniberdrola.orgExternal link, opens in new window. , with Manuel Marín as Chairman, focuses its activities in four main areas of action: cultural development in the countries where the IBERDROLA Group has operations, training and research, biodiversity and social action.

As well as its collaboration with the Prado Museum in the area of historic-artistic heritage conservation, the foundation is also engaged in other major projects such as the Atlantic Romanesque Plan (www.romanicoatlantico.orgExternal link, opens in new window. ) and the scheme for lighting up unique buildings.

As regards support for education, the highlight is the Fundación IBERDROLA's Scholarships and Grants Scheme. In the field of biodiversity, the flagship project is the Bird Migration Programme (www.migraciondeaves.orgExternal link, opens in new window. ). Finally, in the field of support for solidarity, the foundation runs the Call for Social Grants.

For more information about Fundación IBERDROLA, visit the web page www.fundacioniberdrola.orgExternal link, opens in new window. .

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Manuel Marín, Pérez-Llorca, Isabel García Tejerina, Ignacio Galán and Miguel Zugaza next to Rogier van der Weyden's 'El Calvario', recently restored thanks to the sponsor by the Fundación IBERDROLA.

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