SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, March 28. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE), a body dependent on the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), organizes together with the Government of the Canary Islands and with the collaboration of the Cabildo de La Palma the conference ‘ The Energy Transition in the Canary Islands’.
It is a working forum in which the opportunities and challenges of the Archipelago in energy matters will be addressed and the actions planned in the Sustainable Strategy for the Canary Islands will be detailed, presented by the Third Vice President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, on February 16.
The conference, which will be held this Thursday, March 30 and Friday, April 1, at the Parador de La Palma (Breña Baja), is part of the Clean Energy for EU Islands project, a European initiative that aims to accelerate the transition towards a clean energy in the more than 2,200 inhabited European islands, as well as helping them reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and make better use of the renewable energy sources available on their territory.
The meeting will feature the participation of the general director of the IDAE, Joan Groizard, and the Minister of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning of the Government of the Canary Islands, José Antonio Valbuena.
In order to attend as a face-to-face audience, an email must be sent to the address: idaelapalma@gmail.com
MORE THAN 460 MILLION EUROS FOR THE CANARY ISLANDS
During the morning of Thursday, representatives of the IDAE and the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning of the Canary Government will detail the lines of action of the Strategy, endowed with almost 467 million euros from the Recovery Plan, Transformation and Resilience (PRTR) for the execution of Next Generation EU funds.
This plan seeks to accelerate the change to an energy model based on efficiency, the use of renewables and sustainable mobility, complemented by the introduction of new technologies, such as storage or renewable hydrogen, during the next four years.
With a total investment of more than 800 million between public and private funds, the Strategy will allow the islands to double their renewable power, multiply their self-consumption by ten and become a territory 100% enabled for electric mobility.
SUPPORT FOR ENERGY COMMUNITIES: THE EXAMPLE OF LA PALMA
The conference will close on Friday with a visit to the energy community of Isla Bonita, in Los Sauces, to learn first-hand about the experience of this energy cooperative. With great activity on La Palma, it was one of the first island energy communities and is part of the top five Spanish groups within the European Clean Energy for EU Islands program.
The energy communities will also be protagonists during the day on Thursday in a round table in which experiences in other islands such as Gran Canaria or Tenerife will be presented, in line with the Government’s commitment to promote this energy figure. The energy communities are a key agent in accelerating the green transition due to their environmental, social and economic benefits and their direct impact on the territory, which is why they constitute one of the commitments of the Government of Spain within the framework of the Recovery Plan, Transformation and Resilience.
In this context, MITECO has launched a package of measures endowed with 100 million euros aimed at accompanying energy communities in all stages of their development. The first two calls for aid, aimed at innovative energy community projects, closed their application period on March 1 and the Government is already working on the implementation of other lines.
CLEAN ENERGY FOR EU ISLANDS
The Paris Agreement recognizes that islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change and excessive dependence on fossil fuels and energy imports, but also have the potential to be pioneering territories in the transition to clean energy through the adoption of new technologies. and the implementation of innovative solutions.
The European Commission is acting to develop and support the clean energy potential of Europe’s more than 2,200 inhabited islands, home to 15 million people.
The Clean Energy for EU Islands initiative seeks to gather and share best practices among the islands of the European Union in order to promote their energy self-sufficiency, encourage the reduction of dependence on fossil fuel imports and offer tailored solutions to boost renewable energy on each island.
In Spain, the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza (Balearic Islands), Illa de Arousa (Galicia) and La Palma, the only one in the Canary archipelago, are part of this initiative.
