The Government of the Canary Islands has granted two exploration permits to Repsol for the investigation of geothermal resources in the south of Tenerife. The authorizations, granted by the General Directorate of Industry through separate resolutions dated February 7, are in a public exhibition period until March 21, as reported on the Cabildo website, and will affect five municipalities from the southwest region: Arico, Granadilla de Abona, Adeje, Guía de Isora and Santiago del Teide.
One of the explorations, called Tajao, will be developed on a surface of 576 mining grids by Repsol Exploration SA in the municipalities of Granadilla de Abona and Arico, while the second, named Isora, will be carried out by the aforementioned Spanish petrochemical company in an area of 630 mining squares on land in Adeje, Santiago del Teide and Guía de Isora.
The regional Executive has reiterated the need to promote actions that guarantee the decarbonization of the insular economy, in accordance with the provisions of the Mining Law, and reduce dependence on energy resources from abroad. In this sense, it stresses that it will promote the use of renewable energies, from small to large projects, and in all sectors.
sustainable and clean
In the Canary Islands, geothermal studies have been carried out in the exploration phase since the 1970s, especially in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Palma and Lanzarote, the islands with the greatest potential in this type of sustainable and clean energy that is generated through the use of heat. from underground.
The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce put out to public tender on January 13 the selection of the best geothermal resource research programs in different areas of Tenerife that cover an area of 3,089 mining grids, approximately 1,035 square kilometers. The law establishes that once a permit, whether for exploration or research, has expired, it is necessary to call a public tender to grant new authorizations.
A study by the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME) highlights the expectations of Tenerife, La Palma, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria by having “high temperature warehouses (between 150 and 300 degrees) and hot dry rock”. These deposits, the report notes, could be used to generate conventional electricity and binary cycles, as well as to desalinate seawater.
The Repsol company is currently developing an exploration project on the island of Gran Canaria, called Lisa, to determine if there is enough heat in the subsoil to generate renewable energy.
If this point is confirmed, the next phase would begin, the investigation phase, which could last up to five years.
