The Clean Energy Secretariat for the Islands of the European Union has selected La Graciosa, among thirty European islands that will receive technical assistance over the next three years to achieve energy self-sufficiency in 2023 with 100% renewable sources.
After a thorough selection process, the European body Clean Energy for EU Island has communicated the island's designation to the entity leading the initiative, the Canarian association El Sol de La Graciosa, after submitting its candidacy last October with the institutional support of the Teguise City Council, the Lanzarote Cabildo, the Vice-Ministry of Ecological Transition, Climate Change and Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands, and the non-governmental organization ADACIS.
All these entities will accompany and support the process undertaken by El Sol de La Graciosa to achieve the challenge of becoming the first island in the Canary Islands and Spain with 100% of the energy supply coming from clean and renewable energies.
The designation of the island in this important energy transition process will allow it to receive technical and institutional assistance from the European Commission to achieve the decarbonization goal in 2030, addressing a process that includes not only the generation of energy with renewable and clean sources, but also mobility and the water cycle in its phases of desalination, storage, distribution, and purification. These objectives also aim to be carried out with the implementation of energy and water efficiency measures, in order to promote responsible consumption that reinforces in practice the sustainability and self-sufficiency of essential resources.
Nahum Cabrera, president of El Sol de La Graciosa, expresses his satisfaction with this designation "after a long time of profuse and committed collective work to guarantee a safe, efficient and resilient future for the population and territory of La Graciosa", also conveying "his utmost recognition and gratitude to the public administrations of the island and the autonomous government for supporting the initiative".
For Isabel Saavedra, spokesperson for the association, "this news is first of all an unprecedented stimulus of enormous value to recognize the commitment of the Graciosa population in the protection of its territory, its extraordinary nature, its economy and its international contribution to curb greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming".
The association insists once again that this process "must be adapted urgently by updating an essential regulatory framework so that the conservation and management of the custody of La Graciosa runs in accordance with the legitimate right of its population to its full responsible and sustainable socio-economic development".
Finally, Gines Diaz highlights "the enormous value of achieving maximum water and energy autonomy for the island".
The Graciosa entity also conveys its congratulations to the Island of La Palma since, together with La Graciosa, it has also been selected among the 30 islands in Europe for this transition process. "We will work with total synergy and cooperation between the two islands for this common goal, trusting that both experiences will open and guide the way for the rest of the Canary Islands to evolve towards total energy self-sufficiency and towards an economy free of polluting emissions in the shortest possible time".