Spain is set to become a bigger hit with green-conscious property-seekers, as ambitious new solar power facilities are put into construction.

US firm SunPower has announced that it will work with Spanish subsidiaries to engineer and build three solar electric power plants in the country, promising a 21-megawatt power yield.

Top holiday region the Costa Blanca will experience the phenomenon first hand, with one of the facilities set for construction at Tinajeros (Albacete), just inland from the sun-baked coastal region.

Taking advantage of the south-eastern sunshine at Tinajeros, as well as at the additional Manzanares and Almuradiel (Ciudad Real) sites, the group will use its technology to spread its green benefits to Spain, at minimum inconvenience.

Marco Antonio Northland, general manager of SunPower’s European operations, said: "We are pleased that the Spanish market continues its rapid adoption of solar power.

"The SunPower Tracker solar power system is a proven and reliable solution for maximizing the highest energy delivery, while optimising land use and reducing related costs."

Property in Valencia could be given a boost when the city hosts the European Grand Prix, it has been claimed.

Spain’s third city has been confirmed as the location for the event between 2008 and 2014, provoking renewed interest in Valencia and fuelling expectations of its property gaining value.

Set to rival Montecarlo’s famous street race, the Valencia circuit will trace its route around the city’s America Cup port, becoming a fixture with the racing world as part of a seven-year deal with Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone.

The potential effects on Valencian housing have been highlighted by Assetz Property News Service, as it looked forward to driver Lewis Hamilton’s move to Switzerland.

"Not since Valencia gained the boost of having the European Grand Prix awarded to it from 2008 to 2014 has a property market had such a boost from Formula One," said the site.

Valencia’s America’s Cup port is already an asset to the city’s sporting credentials, featuring the famous sailing event which ranks high on the international watersports calendar.

Guardian columnist Denis MacShane has highlighted Spain as an example of a tolerant and welcoming country – whose economy benefits from openness to foreigners.

Championing the need to see immigrants as ’semigrants’ in the UK and elsewhere, he highlighted the mutually beneficial Spanish arrangement, where Brits were welcomed into the country and subsequently prosper.

UK property-seekers have embraced the facility of setting up in Spain, with destinations like the Costa del Sol unrivalled in holiday and home-seeking popularity; an arrangement which could serve as an example to other European countries.

Mr MacShane wrote: "Spain has 750,000 British citizens living and working happily there. Are they "immigrants"? That is not how the Spanish press describe them. The mass arrival of Brits in Spain is seen as a normal aspect of living in an open Europe."

"They are not immigrants in the traditional sense but European citizens helping to grow and sustain UK businesses or keeping the Spanish property market ticking over," he added.

Spain was recently revealed to be the European country with the highest percentage of immigrants – a spirit of openness which for many is seen to sustain the country’s economic growth above the Eurozone average.

Spanish property is receiving a boost from renewed interest from the rich and famous – especially those from the sporting world.

According to British rural property magazine Country Life, the development of luxury low-density villas set in the dramatic landscape of Southern Spain has enticed sporting celebrities such as former England rugby star Matt Dawson.

Former Barcelona footballer Esteban Vigo is also among those reported to have invested in luxury property in top end Andalusian country club sites is – giving his Arcos de la Frontera golfing and villa resort an even more exclusive feel.

The sportsmen are not alone in investing in luxury villas in spacious Iberian surroundings, with Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) claiming that many celebrities have set up in Spain’s serenity.

According to the bank, the formerly Madrid-based Beckhams own prime real estate in the country, alongside the likes of Richard Branson, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Claudia Schiffer.

But despite the immense spending power of the stars, HBOS claimed that other factors were making Spain a top location for property-seekers on various different budgets.

"The boom in low-cost, budget airlines has meant that owning a property in Spain is a real possibility, not just a lifestyle afforded by the rich and famous," said Banco Halifax Hispania, the group’s Spanish branch.

Iberian real estate experts have identified the timeless lifestyle draws that lead Britons to invest in property in a location world apart from their homeland.

Overseas housing information portal Spanish Property Insight said that Brits were not simply flocking to the Costa del Sol and other Spanish resorts as an escape to the sun – but through love for the Spanish character and way of life.

The Spanish real estate specialist highlighted the maturity of the country’s property market and its status as a modern democratic EU member state, but claimed that lifestyle was the biggest draw.

Mark Stucklin, managing director of Spanish Property Insight, said: "This is the great British love affair with everything Spanish.

"There’s something about the Spanish culture; the colour and vibrancy. It is at the opposite end of the spectrum to the British culture. Opposites attract."

It is estimated that around three quarters of a million Brits have fallen in love with Spanish culture and set up home in the country, with Spain and neighbouring France alone accounting for more than half of UK overseas property purchases.

Airport designers are paying more and more attention to the incorporation of touch-screen check-in facilities, it has been claimed.

The British Airport Authority (BAA), administrator of seven UK airports, claimed that check-in processes were being simplified by factoring in rapid touch-screen machines that would make travel easier.

Destinations like Spain, unrivalled in popularity with UK holidaymakers, could be brought into ever closer and easier reach by reducing the long queues at airport check-ins.

Hailing the spread of the touch-screen option, a BAA spokesperson said: "We have a number of generic ones which a number of different airlines use, but most of the major airlines now have their own."

"The feedback we’re getting back from them is that significantly more and more people are using them," he added.

According to the BAA, the design of Heathrow’s new Terminal Five has taken into account the need for rapid check-in facilities, aiming to alleviate the queuing and crowds the busy airport has become known for.

UK travel firms have claimed that sunny Spain is the unrivalled winter holiday destination for Brits.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said that destinations with guaranteed sunshine like Spain and the Canary Islands were top choices for the reams of UK yuletide holidaymakers.

A poll of 1,000 workers by Lastminute.com found that 71 per cent still have more than half of holiday entitlements left by the year end, sparking ample Christmas trips.

Frances Tuke, a spokesperson for ABTA, said that Iberian locations were a seasonal favourite because yuletide holidaymakers "tend to be either winter sun or skiing".

"Because of the huge numbers of people who have holiday homes in Spain, that is our top destination," she added.

All-year-round tourism adds to the foreign interest of overseas property buyers in top Iberian resorts, keeping areas like the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca booming.

British property-seekers scouring Iberia for a patch of unspoiled land could soon be flocking to the Costa Azahar, it has been claimed.

The Mirror newspaper has boosted the region – also known as Castellon – by hailing its beautiful landscape and its retention of authentic Spanish lifestyle.

Setting the region aside from others which have experienced a large influx of British and other overseas property buyers, the Mirror claimed that the Costa Azahar still had an authentic Spanish feel, with only 1,000 British ex-pats so far uncovering the gem.

Shawn Luetchens, managing director of HotProperty.co.uk, told the newspaper: “British buyers have always looked to Spain for holiday homes. However now many people are looking for properties off the beaten track.”

Few regions are further off the tourist trail than the Costa Azahar, which is located between Catalonia and Valencia, in reach of big cities like Barcelona but far enough way to retain considerable rural calm.

Backing from the Mirror and other corners could soon see the region receive an investment boost from tourists and property seekers, with Castellon also expecting to raise its accessibility through a soon-to-be complete airport complex.

Passengers to Spain and other popular winter locations will be relieved by news of additional staff recruitment at busy transport hub Heathrow Airport.

Site owner the British Airports Authority (BAA) claims it is "investing heavily" in both additional security staff and new technologies, in a bid to ward off chaos at the hub for seasonal holidaymakers.

Brits are likely to take more trips than ever this Christmas – with recent studies revealing many had holiday leave remaining at the year end – making airport efficiency imperative.

A BAA Heathrow spokesperson said: "With regards to security, Heathrow is performing well and is investing heavily in new technology and recruiting additional security staff to drive down queues.

"In August this year, one of the busiest on record, for 95 per cent of the time passengers queued for less than ten minutes."

Passengers can travel to top, all-year-round Iberian locations like Malaga and Valencia from Heathrow, with airport improvements intended to bring journey stress down to a minimum.

The Spanish government is set to embark on an ambitious €5 billion (£3.5 billion) plan to crack down on illegal construction on Iberian coast-lines.

A cleaning up of regulations could mean good news for property seekers in Spain – with clarity and reliability likely to be restored to Spanish housing purchases.

Recently problems have emerged with people led to invest in property whose construction had flouted development laws, making the reinforcement of regulations across 776km of southern coastlines an ambitious but potentially very worthwhile task.

The plans unveiled to the Spanish cabinet by environment minister Cristina Narbona involved a new level of cooperation between local authorities and central institutions, in order to investigate construction on public land.

Looking likely to formally approve the legislation, the Spanish government is set to proceed with caution, hoping to negotiate with homeowners over contentious properties rather than taking extreme measures.

Recent changes have already made the criteria for building permits more stringent than before on the Costa del Sol and elsewhere, so a new enforcement of regulations could add another boost to the legal reliability of Spanish property.