Santa Cruz de Tenerife 27 Feb. (Europa Press) –
The Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan), an organisation under the Insular Cabildo of Tenerife, is set to commence geothermal surface exploration studies in the eastern region of Gran Canaria from April 1 for a duration of four months. This will specifically take place in the municipalities of Ingenio, Agüimes, Telde, and Valsequillo, as reported by sources from the institution to Europa Press.
The entity associated with the Cabildo de Tenerife has been appointed by Gran Canaria Geothermia SL to undertake studies within the mining area that has been allocated to the Public Business Entity Insular Council of the Energy of Gran Canaria, an organisation under the Insular Cabildo of Gran Canaria. This follows a public tender by the Government of the Canary Islands to obtain permits for geothermal research in Gran Canaria.
The surface exploration initiatives to be conducted by Involcan have a budget of nearly 1.5 million euros. These efforts will largely consist of geological, geochemical, and geophysical studies aimed at geothermal exploration within the specified mining domain, as outlined in a press release from the island institution.
The studies will include resistivity assessments (magnetotelluric), passive seismic (seismic noise tomography), spontaneous potential, microgravimetry, geochemistry of diffuse gas emissions, hydrogeochemical, volcano-structural, remote sensing, and geostatistics. The research is expected to span over four months.
Juan José Martínez, the Minister of Innovation, Research, and Development, has emphasised the significant contributions made by Involcan and the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (Iter) in the past 15 years for fostering geothermal energy development in the Canary Islands.
Martínez further noted that this recent research has attracted considerable public and private investments towards advancing geothermal projects in the Islands, which currently benefit from funding of 100,885,710.00 euros from the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE) aimed at promoting geothermal energy in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Palma.
Additionally, Martínez pointed out that the expertise of this research group extends beyond the Canary Islands, as they have been involved in geothermal surface exploration studies in countries such as Ecuador, El Salvador, mainland Spain, Ethiopia, Iceland, Kenya, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal (Azores), and Rwanda over the last 20 years.
The public-private partnership Gran Canaria Geothermia SL comprises four stakeholders: Insular Energy Council of Gran Canaria holds 49.985%, Drilling Spain SL accounts for 44.014%, while Ayaguares Environmental SLU and Canary Islands Base companies, SLU each possess a 3% share.
