Canary Islands Approves Power Generation Plants to Prevent Blackouts

The Canary Islands’ Ministry for Ecological Transition and Energy has approved the implementation of two small power generation plants in Tenerife aimed at preventing potential blackouts. These are the Los Abrigos Plant and the Emergency Plant at the La Campana Industrial Estate, being developed by Disa and Sampol, respectively.

Background and Objectives

These plants form part of a total of ten facilities that will be established across three islands to ensure a reliable electricity supply, following the detection of a generation deficit by Red Eléctrica. Currently, these are the two most advanced facilities on the islands, both located on industrial land, necessitating modifications to the applicable planning regulations.

Details of the Granadilla Plant

The plant being developed by Disa is known as the Emergency Generation Plant with a capacity of 14.8 MW (megawatts)—Los Abrigos Plant. This small facility will be located on land that the energy company owns in Granadilla de Abona. The installation will feature eight modular emergency generator units, each comprising a gas engine and a diesel engine, cumulatively providing a total power output of 14.8 megawatts. The plant will operate using propane gas sourced from Disa’s existing facilities.

Furthermore, the decree specifies that a propane storage system will be installed for the new plant, consisting of a new 1,000 cubic metre sphere, two horizontal tanks of 500 cubic metres each, and two additional horizontal tanks of 200 cubic metres each. The projected investment for this facility amounts to €25.1 million.

Emergency Plant in Santa Cruz

Additionally, the Official Bulletin of the Canary Islands has published the decree approving the execution of the Emergency Plant at the La Campana Industrial Estate, promoted by Sampol. This plant will consist of five diesel generator sets with a total generating capacity of nine megawatts. Similar to Disa’s installation, the equipment will be housed in 40-foot containers with acoustic insulation and will include transformation centres connected to a substation that increases the voltage to 20 kilovolts. The investment for this project totals €5.5 million.

Modifications to Planning Regulations

Both installations will require modifications to the affected territorial planning, specifically the Insular Plan for Tenerife, the General Town Planning of Granadilla de Abona, and the General Town Planning of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Upcoming Facilities

The approval of the remaining plants is still pending; initially, there were eight, but the Canary Islands Government has since increased this number to ten. Besides the aforementioned facilities, Disa is set to install another small plant in Los Realejos and one in La Garita (Salinetas), both of which have faced opposition from nearby residents. Meanwhile, Sampol is promoting the emergency plant at Puerto Santa Cruz Tenerife, the emergency La Herradura plant (Fuerteventura), the Emergency Generation Plant in Los Realejos (Tenerife), and the La Campana plant.