SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 2 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Department of Ecological Transition and Energy of the Canary Islands Government is allocating a total of 19 million euros for initiatives that entail the installation or enhancement of photovoltaic systems on canopies and pergolas situated on pre-existing land (anthropised) across the Canary Islands.
For those wishing to apply for these grants, the regulations will be available in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC) starting from August 30, 2024, as detailed in a ministry announcement.
The regional minister affirmed that the administration is firmly committed to utilising spaces such as car parks, parks, squares, reservoirs, and greenhouses as an alternative to encroaching on new territories for the establishment of renewable energy.
“This will also contribute to creating shaded areas and will aid in the decarbonisation of the archipelago as a whole,” he stated.
According to Zapata, “the progression of renewable energy in these locations has swifter and more straightforward bureaucratic processes.”
He also pointed out that there is currently “a current map of these spaces, available on the Grafcan website, which is accessible to promoters, institutions, and the public.”
To simplify access to this funding, the councillor noted that anyone interested can direct their queries to the Green Offices of the Canary Islands, where they will receive basic information and be directed to the relevant specialised services of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy.
For further details, interested individuals may visit any of the offices on the islands without an appointment –between 09:00 and 13:00– (in Lanzarote, services extend to the island of La Graciosa), call 922 533 533 during the same hours (which enables contact with any office), or send an email to [email protected].
DETAILS OF THE GRANT
The Council indicates that the recipients of this funding will include legal entities, public administrations, property communities, water user associations, homeowners’ associations, or collectives.
The submission window for this grant will commence on September 2 and conclude on November 2 of this year, with a resolution timeframe not exceeding six months.
Projects that involve the implementation or enhancement of photovoltaic systems on canopies and pergolas in car parks, squares, sports facilities, parks, or service stations will be eligible for financial support. However, installations on rooftops will not qualify for funding.
In this regard, agrovoltaic energy will also be encouraged through the implementation of photovoltaic systems on agricultural land (farms or livestock operations), which will indirectly provide shade for crops that are adversely affected by increased solar exposure.
Consequently, this initiative will not only promote enhanced energy efficiency but also safeguard crops and stabilise production.
The advancement of renewable energies linked to existing infrastructure that offers additional benefits will also be encouraged.
This subsidy complements two other initiatives, announced the previous week by the Ministry, aimed at decarbonising the nautical sector with a total funding of three million euros, and supporting new energy communities in the Canary Islands with an allocation of two million euros.
ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO UNBLOCK NEXT GENERATION FUNDS
The Department of Ecological Transition and Energy has made efforts to progress the various Next Generation programmes under its jurisdiction during the initial year of this legislature.
In this context, it has executed the expansion and amendment of several key programmes, which are currently in the awarding process, such as those targeted at promoting energy self-sufficiency in public administrations, shared self-consumption, or encouraging decarbonisation in the industrial sector.
Conversely, the Ministry is also focused on expediting the awarding and disbursement of the Self-Consumption and Moves III programmes. In this latter case, it has already approved the 3,842 outstanding applications for 2023, amounting to 18 million euros, and is actively working on processing those for 2024.
Regarding the management of these funds, Councillor Zapata emphasised that considerable efforts have been made to reorganise and redistribute resources for their administration.
“Upon our arrival in power, we discovered over 15,000 unprocessed files, alongside those that have been processed during this legislature, accumulating a total of more than 23,000 unresolved. The Executive has undertaken significant work, including the restructuring of management personnel, increasing the workforce responsible for administration, collaborating with entities such as the Chambers of Commerce of the Canary Islands or the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands (ITC) for specific programmes and initiatives to improve the current application, a tool designed for fund management,” he concluded.
