Green light for the installation of the new El Monte wind farm in San Bartolomé

Ecological Transition reports the "unblocking" of this installation, which will increase the installed energy on the island by 9.2 megawatts

April 8 2024 (12:38 WEST)
Updated in April 8 2024 (16:42 WEST)
Mariano H. Zapata, Jacobo Medina, and Alberto Hernández
Mariano H. Zapata, Jacobo Medina, and Alberto Hernández

The Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands gives the green light to the installation of the San Bartolomé wind farm, in Lanzarote. This was conveyed in a meeting on FDCAN investments by the Minister of the Government of the Canary Islands, Mariano H. Zapata, to the Vice President and Minister of Planning and Projects and Public Works of the Island Council, Jacobo Medina.

In this regard, Zapata explained that "this park, composed of four wind turbines, will produce 9.2 megawatts of power, essential for the energy security of the island."

The Minister wanted to highlight the work of the Ministry to "unblock a worrying situation for the residents of Lanzarote", assuring that "since we became aware of this problem, we have worked to establish the precepts to minimize possible impacts, always respecting the environment. Something that is the responsibility of this Ministry, and that has finally turned out favorably."

He also stated that this achievement "will allow us to be closer to our goal of decarbonizing the Canary Islands, where the penetration of renewables does not exceed 20% in total. These four wind turbines will have an energy production of 28,605 megawatt hours per year," explained Zapata.

For his part, the Vice President and Minister of Planning and Projects and Public Works of the Lanzarote Island Council, Jacobo Medina, thanked the Ministry of Ecological Transition of the Autonomous Government for unblocking a "worrying" situation since "every month that the wind turbines remained in the Mármoles Dock, in Arrecife, translated into an expense of 50,000 euros for renting the space."

Added to this are "the losses from the delay in its installation and an imminent threat of losing the total investment, of 11 million euros, derived from the Canary Islands Development Funds (FDCAN)."

Therefore, Vice President Medina reiterates his gratitude to the Minister for his involvement "with this situation inherited from the previous government", and states that this resolution "is very good news for the island, both for its development and for its progress towards a more sustainable energy model."

The technical details

The wind farm will be located in the area known as El Monte, in the Lanzarote municipality of San Bartolomé, and is the last of those presented to the regional competition by INALSA, a public company dependent on the Island Water Consortium of Lanzarote.

Four wind turbines with a total height of 120 meters, including the blades, will be erected in the area, and it is expected to have an energy production of 28,605 megawatt hours per year, adding 9.2 megawatts of power.

Most read