The granting of two exploration permits to Repsol for the investigation of geothermal resources in five municipalities in the south of Tenerife, as anticipated this week DIARIO DE AVISOSreturns to the forefront of today the value of this type of energy that is obtained by taking advantage of the heat of the subsoil.
The authorization granted by the Directorate General for Industry, which is in the public information period until the 21st, will allow the Spanish multinational to begin exploration studies in Arico, Granadilla de Abona, Adeje, Guía de Isora and Santiago del Teide .
One of the explorations, called Tajao, will be carried out on an area of 576 mining squares in Arico and Granadilla de Abona, while the second, called Isora, will be carried out on an area of 630 squares on land in Adeje, Santiago del Teide and Isora Guide.
The exploitation of this clean energy source in the Archipelago is still in its infancy, although the Government of the Canary Islands has repeatedly expressed its willingness to promote actions that guarantee the decarbonization of the economy of the Islands and thus reduce the level of dependence on energy resources from abroad.
In the Canary Islands, the use of geothermal energy is limited to date to obtain energy through groundwater, either through wells or galleries, and drilling to a maximum depth of 200 meters. But obtaining more ambitious resources, with temperatures above 100 degrees (technically called medium and high enthalpy) that can be used for community electrical systems and industries, requires much more complex drilling, which can reach 3,500 meters. At that depth, special probes are used to capture the heat energy stored in the rocks.
The Repsol company is currently developing an exploration project in Gran Canaria, called Lisa, which studies the subsoil of the central zone of the island in search of sufficient heat to generate sustainable energy. If this point is confirmed, for which geophysical studies will be used, the exploration phase would conclude and the investigation phase would begin, in which the soundings that precede the perforations are carried out.
As revealed by the digital newspaper Canarias Ahora, the Canary Islands Government’s Energy Transition Plan amounts to 10 million euros for each exploratory well and a minimum of three are required at depths greater than 2,000 meters. Furthermore, the success of the operation is not guaranteed: only between 50 and 60% of the investigations are favourable.
A study by the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME) underlines the expectations of the Canary Islands, especially Tenerife, La Palma and Lanzarote, as they have “high-temperature warehouses (between 150 and 300 degrees) and dry hot rock”. These deposits, the report notes, could be used to generate conventional electricity and binary cycles, as well as to desalinate seawater.
The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce put out to public tender on January 13 the selection of the best geothermal resource research programs in different areas of Tenerife that cover an area of 3,089 mining grids, approximately 1,035 square kilometers.
The law establishes that once the permit, whether for exploration or research, has expired, it is necessary to call a public tender to grant new authorizations.
