The Tenerife Council is investing £15 million in the first phase of the Decarbonization Plan for the network of 23 reservoirs of Balten on the island. The Primary Sector councillor, Valentín González, explains that “this consists of own funds and European funds to carry out a series of actions that will allow 86.6% of the energy consumed to come from renewable sources.” The dependent public company supplies irrigation water to the Tenerife countryside. This measure will prevent the emission of 8,850 tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
González highlights that “the actions aim to mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure service in the face of possible energy shortages.” In this first phase, projects have already been executed for the installation of photovoltaic systems in Valle San Lorenzo and in the Isla Baja Complex. Currently, the first floating panels are being installed in the San Antonio reservoir, with plans to develop those in Valle San Lorenzo and the mini-hydropower station in Isla Baja.
The strategy will allow Balten’s public water irrigation service to be decoupled from the consumption of fossil fuels and will ensure the provision of the service through investments that enable total self-sufficiency in electricity and the sale of surpluses.
The total budget for the Plan is £48.7 million to invest not only in renewable energies but also to study the production potential of all facilities so that the public company can, in the future, produce and supply energy to the rest of the island’s public sector, taking advantage of all the water surface available in the reservoirs or through the development of mini-hydropower plants in the existing falls in its extensive pipe network.
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The announcement comes after the PSOE urged the Council yesterday in a motion presented in a plenary commission to ensure the £48 million in the generation of 212 megawatts per hour per year of the plan to decarbonize the irrigation water service and guarantee its self-sufficiency. Socialist councillor Javier Parrilla explained that “we want to promote action in the Northeast Region in the Valle Molina reservoir.”
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