european large aperture solar telescope (est) in the canary islands report on technical, financial and socio-economic aspect April 2011 european large aperture solar telescope (est) in the canary islands the canary in telescope (est) solar aperture european large financial aspect and socio-economic technical, on report european large aperture solar telescope (est) in the canary islands report on technical, financial and socio-economic aspect April 2011 © Instituto de Astrofísica Design and layout: de Canarias Estudio Nexo SL First Edition, 2012 Infographics: Gabriel Pérez DL: TF 577-2012 IDOM ATST Printed in Spain Antonio Darwich (Producciónes Gráficas) Pictures: Miguel Briganti All rights reserved. No part Pablo Bonet of this book may be repro- Inés Bonet duced in any form or by any Michiel Van Noort electronic or mechanical Daniel López means, including photogra - Miguel Díaz Sosa phy, information storage Pablo Rodríguez and retrieval systems, wi- Nik Szymanek thout the prior written per- Thierry Legault mission of the copyright Ángel L. Aldai holders. Ángeles Pérez 5 This report is the result of an extensive analysis and data collection on industrial and socio-economic aspects related to the construction and operation of the “European Large Aperture Solar Telescope” (EST). A Conceptual Design Study for this research infrastructure was fun- ded by the European Commission, during the period 2008-2011 (re- ference FP7-212482), through its specific programme for Research Infrastructures as part of the Seventh Framework Programme for RTD 2007-2013. This report is one of the project deliverables, within the workpackage “Economic feasibility and socio-economic impact”. This report was produced by: Sosa Méndez, A. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) Burgos Martín, J. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) Collados Vera, M. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) The following people have also significantly contributed to some specific sections of this report: Eff-Darwich, A. University of La Laguna (ULL). Section 5.3: Geological risk. Valle Valle, E. University of the Balearic Islands (UIB). Section 9.2.2: Economic impact of building and operating the EST in the Canaries. We would like to thank staff at the IAC for their comments and input during the preparation of this document. Finally we would also like to thank those who worked on the 2009 European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) report, which dealt with similar aspects arising from the possible installation of this large telescope on the island of La Palma. That document has served as a valuable reference for some sections of this new report on the EST. For additional information or to comment on this report please contact: Institutional Projects and Technology Transfer Office INSTITUTO DE ASTROFÍSICA DE CANARIAS C/ Vía Láctea, s/n, 38205, La Laguna Tel.: +34 922 605 200 E-mail: [email protected] 6 executive Today, the European Solar Physics community has a prominent role summary on the world stage. This is the result of the international reputation that research groups in Europe have been building and the access to the most comprehensive array of solar telescopes at the International Astrophysics Observatories in the Canary Islands that they enjoy. The strategic advantage presented by the Observatories has helped strong relationships to develop throughout the European solar physics community, make progress in generating and developing new obser- vational capacities, and create new opportunities for joint working on high technology projects. The successes of recent years and the experience gained by the European scientific community in this field mean that the time is now ripe for a major technological challenge. This is the role of the EST, the largest European research instrument in the field of ground-based solar physics. Building it in the Canaries, at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) in La Palma or at the Observatorio del Teide (OT) in Tenerife, would also stimulate development in the region as well as in the rest of Spain and Europe as a whole. This report was produced in the context of the conceptual design phase for the EST (2008-2011), which was funded by the European Commission (EC). It draws on activities carried out by the international consortium working on that phase of the project. It aims to provide a detailed description of the scientific, technical, industrial and socio- economic impact of building and operating the EST in the Canaries, and to provide information that will be helpful for decision-making when this European initiative of transnational scientific collaboration is started. From the point of view of economy and industry it is estimated that through the collaboration of the countries involved (over a dozen Mem- ber States) they can have access to a return proportionate to the size of their solar physics community, the type of contribution they make (in-kind or in cash), their available resources for solar physics and/or their industrial capacity. For the host country, previous experience with large telescope construction projects like the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), combined with the development of a competitive and speciali- sed national industrial sector and the nature of some of the EST work- packages, allow to foresee returns over 30%. High returns can also be anticipated for any other country with much to offer to the project. 7 However, given the high degree of uncertainty about on which regions tenders and service providers related to this project will be located, apart from those anticipated for the host region, attempting to pro- vide individual information on the industrial return, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase and job creation for the different countries involved (including Spain as a whole) would be a complex and uncon- vincing enterprise. From a socio-economic perspective the Canaries would benefit on many levels, in particular from a more diverse economy, increased GDP and the creation of high quality jobs. Given the current state of the economy in the Canaries, with the wider international crisis and the Islands’ dependence on the services sector, this project is an opportu- nity that must not be missed. Detailed analysis of the available data suggests that financial returns from the project for the Canaries during the construction phase could be as high as €54 million, rising to some €364 million over the 30 years of the telescope’s life (including induced effects on the regional eco- nomy). The effect on jobs, again including induced effect, could total some 10,565 new one-year positions in the Canaries (taking into account both, the construction period 2015-2020 and the operating phase, some 30 years). These positions are equivalent to 213 full-time jobs during the six-year construction phase and 309, also full-time, over the telescope’s 30-year life. The methodology used (based on Input-Output tables), together with high levels of uncertainty in the estimates for the extent of invol- vement of the different nations (including the host nation) make re- alistic projections for impact on GDP and employment across the European Union (EU) impossible. The impact of a project like the EST on the reputation of the Obser - va tories in the Canary Islands should also not be underestimated. It would confirm their position as a world-class astronomy resource, with premium sites for the latest generation telescopes and new scientific instruments, a permanent training facility for young resear- chers and engineers and a source of new outreach and science tou- rism initiatives that would benefit society. There is no question that the Canary Islands as a location, with its good and plentiful connections to Europe, add to the strategic attrac- tiveness of the Observatories. This is demonstrated by the constant movement of large numbers of research and technical professionals from Europe to the Observatories of the Canaries that has been occu - rring for many decades. Sea level support facilities (Centro de Astrofísica 8 de La Palma – CALP and the IAC Headquarters) are equally attractive as they are already equipped with much of the basic and advanced infrastructures needed to build and operate the EST. The Canaries are involved in planning out the development strategy for the Outermost Regions for the period 2014-2020, which gives them an unprecedented opportunity to include large research infrastructu- res in the priorities of the main Structural funds (European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF)). The legal framework put in place by the European Commission for the creation and operation of transnational research infrastructures (European Research Infrastructure Consortium - ERIC) provides a functio - ning model with sufficient guarantees for the project to be carried out without significant difficulty in this regard. As this report was being produced, the financial regime for economic support for the subsequent phases of the project had not been deter- mined. It is foreseeable that the member institutions of the European Association for Solar Telescopes (EAST), via their funding agencies and using whichever legal format is finally adopted, will provide the eco- nomic feasibility for the project. For Spain this project could represent an unprecedented opportunity to lead the construction of a large Eu- ropean research infrastructure. Decisive support (political and finan- cial) from this country’s regional and national authorities is vitally important, together with an additio nal contribution greater than that of other countries, in order to steer the project through its subsequent phases with the other European partners involved. 9 Modern science is entirely global, with information shared between motivation researchers across the world virtually instantly. For astronomy and & objectives other similar disciplines there is another reason for globalisation – the high cost of the infrastructure that we need today. This means that countries must work together to plan for the future, pooling available resources across the whole of Europe.