SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, June 10. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Ministry of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning of the Government of the Canary Islands presented this Friday the main lines of action set out in the draft of the Canary Islands Energy Transition Plan (PTECan) so that the archipelago achieves the objectives of decarbonization marked for 2030 and 2040, date set for the islands to become a 100% sustainable territory.
Thus, they include, among other objectives, that the Canary Islands have 260,000 electric vehicles in 2030 and that the new energy models generate almost 8,000 jobs.
The regional councilor responsible for the area, José Antonio Valbuena, explained that through this instrument they have detected the “development challenges and opportunities that green policies will pose for the Canary Islands in the coming years, taking into account the progress of renewable technologies, new work niches that are being generated in these areas and the forecasts that are contemplated for the coming years, always aligned with the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan and prioritizing the principle of energy efficiency”.
In this sense, Valbuena first underlined the predominant role that this document grants to the fight against energy poverty and the protection of energy consumers.
“The latest data recorded shows that the Canary Islands are above the national average in terms of hidden energy poverty, a situation that we cannot ignore when planning our future in this sector,” he said.
In addition, he added that “it is the most developed energy plan in the entire national panorama.”
To address this situation, the PTECan defines a series of measures that must be activated by the administrations, such as the budget allocation for the energy rehabilitation of vulnerable people; the launch of specific lines for the promotion of photovoltaic self-consumption or the substitution of electric water heaters for other more efficient options and the construction of social rental housing with a subsidy for energy supply costs.
In addition, local corporations are urged to provide information of interest to citizens about what energy poverty means, advice of interest to reduce consumption or the different aids put in place to bet on other alternatives such as self-consumption.
In this sense, it is committed to the creation of specific organizations that assume these tasks, such as the case of a municipal energy agency, collects a note from the regional department.
For his part, the regional deputy councilor for Ecological Transition, Miguel Ángel Pérez, explained that “this plan also refers to other complementary initiatives, such as prohibiting the interruption of energy supply to vulnerable consumers, fighting against the abusive practices of some marketers with their users , defend the singularity of the Canary Islands and the application of extraordinary measures for island territories or advance in the massive start-up of renewable sources that allow us to reduce energy dependency from abroad”.
SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
Mobility and transport occupy an important section of the PTECan, taking as a reference that this sector accounts for more than 65% of total energy consumption in the Canary Islands (including land, sea and air).
Based on this reality, the document makes a series of forecasts for 2030, taking into account the upward trend in the purchase of electric vehicles and the implementation of fuel alternatives for the remaining means of transport.
The forecast that is more in line with the objectives of the Government of the Canary Islands foresees that in the year 2030 the electric car park of the islands will have more than 260,000 electric vehicles, also reducing the proportion of cars per inhabitant thanks to the electrification and improvement of the system of public transport.
On the other hand, it bases the mobility of heavy road transport on hydrogen (more than 7,000 devices of this type), maritime transport on ammonia (reducing some 6,700 tons of emissions per year) and inter-island air transport on synthetic kerosene. , based on the research advances recorded in this type of fuel.
To meet the electricity demand that this increase in hybrid and electric vehicles will entail, the Government of the Canary Islands is committed to a notable increase in recharging points with a view to the years 2030 and 2040, based on the combination of slow, semi-fast recharging points and fast.
The plan proposes that this implementation process be divided into four phases, taking into account singularities of the Canary Islands such as the fact that currently 55% of its car park does not have access to garages where the corresponding recharging can be carried out.
GREEN JOB CREATION
The progress of renewable energies in the Canary Islands and the technology associated with these professional sectors are promoting new business and employment niches for companies on the islands.
In fact, the PTECan estimates that in 2030 the figure of almost 8,000 accumulated jobs will be reached thanks to the new energy model projected by this Government.
This milestone will be possible thanks to the implementation of marine technologies (especially offshore wind), the achievements made in geothermal energy, the dissemination of training and the installation of self-consumption techniques or the consolidation of the archipelago as a laboratory for innovative renewable technologies, taking into account the favorable factors available throughout the year.
RENEWABLE GENERATION
The goals established in the PTECan for the time horizon of the year 2030, in terms of electricity generation from renewable sources, is set at 3,410 megawatts (MW).
This data is divided into 1,606 MW of wind power, 430 MW of off-shore wind power, 759 MW of photovoltaic solar energy in anthropized areas, 525 MW of photovoltaic self-consumption or 30 MW of high enthalpy geothermal energy, among other figures.
In addition, targets are set at the storage level, reaching 827 MWh at the user level, 162 MWh in networks and 3,320 MWh through large-scale storage.
Renewable sources and energy efficiency will also be present in other important areas such as future water management and other sectors such as agriculture, industry or tourism.
“This last sector has always shown an important commitment to sustainability, even before the climate change debate became relevant in recent years, which is why I want to recognize the path they have already traveled in aspects such as environmental awareness, the economy circular, self-consumption, zero kilometer products or savings in water consumption”, added Valbuena.
