SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct. 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Endesa, through the e-distribution company, has completed in two years 70 percent of the necessary actions to rebuild the double electrical ring that linked the north with the south of the island of La Palma, after the previous distribution network will be completely destroyed by the thrust of the Tajogaite volcano.
Endesa has so far invested 6 million euros in the complex reconstruction project of the La Palma electrical grid and in the construction of new key buildings in energy operation, such as the Tajuya distribution center and twelve transformation centers that were destroyed. due to the impact of the volcanic eruption. The total investment of the project, whose completion is scheduled for mid-2024, is estimated at 11 million euros.
The new electrical route of La Palma is more integrated into the landscape by including 34 kilometers of underground network, of which 9 kilometers have already been completed and before the end of the year the incorporation of 8 more kilometers is expected. For the first half of 2024, the execution of the second part of the process is planned with the commissioning of another 17 kilometers of underground lines, as well as the completion of the work on the new Tajuya distribution center and the completion of the construction of twelve distribution centers. transformation scattered throughout the municipalities of Los Llanos de Aridane, Tazacorte and El Paso. In fact, five of the transformer centers are already completed and operational.
The completion of the Tajuya center will mean the interconnection of several lines, which will give greater stability to the electrical network of La Palma. Endesa technicians agree that the new La Palma medium-voltage electrical circuit has improved compared to the previous one. They highlight that more advanced technology has been used and that being an underground network provides greater reliability, reduces the possibility of breakdowns and is more protected from adverse weather conditions.
The new project to restore the electrical wiring of La Palma will go down in history due to its technical complexity, its high investment and the implementation of creative and innovative solutions in the phase of deploying the underground electrical wiring.
In this sense, the solution given by the e-distribution technicians to the high temperatures that are still recorded in the Earth’s crust of the Island and that, at a given moment, threatened to cause significant damage to the underground lines stands out. This problem has been overcome with the manufacture of special prefabricated channels that protect the cables.
It was also a challenge for the company to work in a landscape that has been completely transformed in certain points by the lava, with the difficulty of advancing the works on particularly hard terrain.
WITHDRAWAL FROM THE LAS MANCHAS PLANT.
Endesa has worked during these two years on the reconstruction project of the new electrical circuit, always coordinated and in collaboration with the Cabildo of La Palma and the Government of the Canary Islands, through the Department of Ecological Transition and Energy. In fact, the electrical project was planned in parallel and following the new road layout previously marked by the island and regional institutions.
The general director of Endesa Networks, José Manuel Revuelta, explained that this work demonstrates that “after a catastrophe as brutal as the one suffered by La Palma, companies, in this case Endesa, must do everything possible to ensure that the palm trees recover their normality as soon as possible.” as soon as possible. E-distribución has not spared resources in this sense in a work that is estimated at 11 million euros. And, we have achieved a new energy system that is more solid than the previous one and respectful of the landscape with more than 30 kilometers of network underground. A project executed in record time and in constant collaboration with the different administrations. Today is an important day for La Palma and at Endesa we are very satisfied.”
For his part, the Minister of Ecological Transition and Energy of the Canary Islands, Mariano Zapata, highlighted “the absolute necessity of the execution of these works, which we have monitored at all times, and we thank Endesa for its speed in executing them, and the participation in the decisions that the Island Council may have had at the time. A cable that will allow having and recovering rings, which allow having a more robust distribution system with a higher quality of service for the user.”
The good pace of the works will soon allow the removal of the generating sets from the Las Manchas support plant, located in one of the areas hardest hit by the volcano and which has been installed since the beginning of 2022 to guarantee supply at specific times of breakdowns and as support logistics. This infrastructure has a total power of 4 MW.
In August of this year, Endesa already removed the Hermosilla thermal power plant, the first that Endesa installed provisionally to provide stability to the La Palma electrical system while the new ring was being shaped. Precisely, the twelve generating sets from Hermosilla were urgently transferred to La Gomera in August of this year to strengthen the electrical power of the Colombian island after zero energy. The Hermosilla portable power plant, which was located in the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane for a year and a half, has a capacity of 9 MW.
