SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 27 Aug (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Council of Tenerife, via Balsas de Tenerife (Balten), plans to invest €2,456,301 in the establishment of a floating photovoltaic plant at the Valle San Lorenzo reservoir, located in the municipality of Arona.
With the installation of photovoltaic panels, the Valle San Lorenzo reservoir has the potential to provide energy for 243 households and prevent the release of approximately 225 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Valentín González, the Minister for the Primary Sector and Animal Welfare, notes in a statement that the council will allocate a total of €15 million for the initial phase of the Decarbonisation Plan for the Irrigation Water System on the island, overseen by the public firm Balten, which supplies water for agricultural use in Tenerife.
In this context, he mentions that this project is being financed through both the Cabildo and the European Union, “with the objective that 86.6% of the energy utilised by Balten originates from renewable sources, thereby preventing the emission of 8,850.74 tonnes of CO2 equivalents each year.”
Lope Afonso, the Vice President and Minister of Tourism, has emphasised that the goal is to embark on a journey towards an energy model for the island that aligns with both environmental and economic sustainability principles.
Presently, “Tenerife relies on costly energy derived from fossil fuels,” a scenario Afonso believes must be changed, “with the intention of generating cleaner and more affordable energy, contributing to the reduction of the island’s carbon footprint.”
Afonso also underscores “the significance of integrating renewable energy within Tenerife, particularly at public facilities, and considers this initiative a vital step towards a more sustainable energy framework for the island.”
The Minister for the Primary Sector further highlights that “the ambition is to generate sufficient energy for self-consumption, enabling the powering of facilities without depending on the general system” and adds that “this represents a pioneering endeavour in the Canary Islands, progressing towards the decarbonisation of the public entity.”
“This initiative and the advancement of these projects will assist us in testing this technology type across the islands,” he mentioned.
