"The institution's strategy, in addition to being against prospecting, is to bet on a new development model based on renewable energies." This is how the president of the Lanzarote Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, spoke at the presentation of the Island Plan for Renewable Energies, which took place this Tuesday. He was accompanied at the event by the Minister of Energy, Rocío Arredondo, and the manager of the Lanzarote Water Consortium, Domingo Pérez.
San Ginés assured that the Cabildo "should be a model and example in the implementation of renewables, as it already is with the installation of photovoltaic or wind power in buildings of the institution and other outside entities with which it is collaborating." For her part, the councillor assured that she is aware that she has barely started "a path" and that she has only advanced "a little", but she felt proud. "We have seen that, as we work, many synergies are produced, we know other examples, other projects in places that have similarities with us and we share objectives."
This island plan "Lanzarote Renovable" starts with the slogan "from theory to practice" because it wants to show citizens that in Lanzarote "renewable energies are already a fact." "You can see and there are already public buildings of the Corporation that register a reduction in their energy tariff, and others such as the Aula de la Naturaleza de Máguez or the Arrecife bus station, which are 100 percent sustainable thanks to the provision of photovoltaic panels and vertical axis wind turbines," said the representatives of the Cabildo.
Arredondo explained the six lines of action contemplated in this Plan, such as planning, consisting of accommodating the installation of renewables in the PIOT, mainly photovoltaic and wind power, but also "the consideration of other types such as 'offshore' or wave power, among others." He also stressed the idea of unifying municipal ordinances to promote the expansion of these energies in the private domestic or business sphere; and the creation of an island energy agency, as a necessary entity to be visible in the efforts carried out in the international arena, especially in the European Union.
Precisely, within this EU framework, the councillor spoke of the inclusion of Lanzarote and La Graciosa in the Promise project, which allows working with models from which one "can learn a lot", such as the Danish island of Samso, which is 100 percent sustainable, and could provide funds and subsidies to be more sustainable.
Arredondo pointed out a figure that she feels "very satisfied" with, such as the more than 800,000 euros invested so far. "Although I am aware that it is not much money, it does allow renewables in Lanzarote to have gone from paper to reality," she said, while also highlighting the 180 Kwp already installed.
Other aspects that the councillor highlighted in her presentation were the project "La Graciosa 100 percent sustainable", the work on energy efficiency, in dissemination, such as the fun science workshops aimed at primary school students, the renewable module at the IES Zonzamas, whose students attended the presentation, or the conferences held at the Cabildo; as well as self-consumption and the expansion of electric vehicles and the installation of charging points on the island.
"Ambitious" Investment Plan
"In accordance with the mandate of the Corporation's plenary session in the debate on the state of the island, an ambitious investment plan will soon be presented by the Insular Water Consortium, which will involve an economic contribution of more than one million euros per year from Eólicas de Lanzarote and the Canal Gestión Lanzarote fee," said the president.
San Ginés also indicated that "these investments will be used to start the path of changing the island's energy model and, especially, to minimize the costs of fossil fuels, which mean that the integral water cycle has a cost of close to one million euros per month, this concept being, today, the largest consumer in Lanzarote and one of the largest in the Canary Islands."