The Tenésara mountain. When I lived in Las Malvas, I loved to go up there. The agricultural landscape that could be seen from above was impressive. To think that all that area could one day be supplied with desalinated water produced thanks to clean and own energy would be, for me, a dream come true.
Then, it would be up to each farmer or the community as a whole to decide what part is allocated to irrigation and what remains dry farming. And how to manage all that with emotional intelligence: empathy, solidarity, companionship. In short, intelligence.
I doubt that a single windmill, however large, would be enough to make it possible. But I believe it would be a way to honor the enormous effort and work that so many generations dedicated to those lands (and I am not exactly the farming type). And I would place those windmills in the most visible places, as authentic lighthouses for a new navigation; and, like lighthouses, I would imagine them public, at the service of the common good.
On the other side is Timanfaya. Two models face to face: tourism and agriculture. Also two paradoxes. The territory linked to tourism rests on important underground water reserves, which for now, we have decided not to take advantage of that possibility, while the agricultural territory has abundant sun and wind, but we still have landscape and social difficulties in using them fully.
Sometimes I wonder if we have become hydrophobes. Or perhaps we are still too dependent on oil. Maybe the real challenge is to free ourselves not only from oil, but also from an "oil mentality": that way of thinking that makes us see local and renewable resources as something secondary, when they could help us build a more resilient future, coherent with the territory we inhabit. For many, many years, centuries, slaves were the main source of energy. I wonder if now oil and its businesses are our source of energy or if we are the energy that feeds them.
There is a fundamental problem that almost never appears when we discuss whether a windmill alters the landscape or not.
In Lanzarote, the drinking water needed for so much, so much population, does not come from springs. It comes, fundamentally, from desalination plants. And desalination plants need electricity. If the electricity supply fails, the water supply also fails.
Look at this and hold your breath:
Using data extracted from the Canary Islands Manageable Generation Strategy (v1 edition)
Promoter: Directorate General of Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands.
Development: Technological Institute of the Canary Islands, S.A.
Diagnosis of Thermal Generation in Lanzarote: From the Current State to the Void of 2031
On the island of Lanzarote, if at present there are 13 diesel units and gas turbines in operation, by the year 2030 only 2 diesel generators, whose power totals 35.2 MW and which would end their regulatory useful life in the year 2031, would maintain compliance with the regulatory useful life criterion.
Knowing that the current generation park has a power of 204.82 MW, there would be a drop in available power in category A of 74% by 2030 and the following year there would be no units that could be considered for safety and supply guarantee purposes.
In other words:
Of the 11 units that would end their RUL before 2030, 7 ended that regulatory useful life before 2020 but continue to operate to guarantee coverage of the island's demand. In the 2021-2025 planning period, the regulatory useful life of gas turbine 2 of Punta Grande would end, in the 2026-2030 period, diesel units 7 and 8 would be added, and in the 2031-2035 period, the RUL of three other units would be concluded.
The debate about who is responsible, whether private generation or governments with their laws and their neglect, is another tough issue. But whoever it is, or whether it is shared, the reality is that we operate on old, expired, or about-to-expire junk.
Remember, I'm talking about what powers everything. Energy.
Strategic Conclusion and Critical Risk
The inclusion of current data shows that the problem is not in the future, but has already begun. Lanzarote operates today with more than half of its thermal facilities (7 out of 13) past their regulatory deadline (very old).
By the year 2030, the dependence on this aging infrastructure will be almost absolute (92%). Considering that the design and construction of alternatives (renewables, storage, or new technologies) requires a horizon of 5 to 8 years, the deadlines are completely tight to avoid a scenario of energy vulnerability and, by extension, water vulnerability (shutdown of desalination plants).
The solution is not a windmill, but windmills are part of the solution
There is no single solution. But complementary answers can be built.
That is why I propose, point out, suggest, leave in the air, facilitate the development of small public infrastructures distributed throughout the island: renewable installations directly linked to water production and water security.
A decentralized but interconnected network of energy production and desalination that increases the resilience of the system and reduces the exclusive dependence on large centralized infrastructures. Or support them.
A decentralized and public network? (do CACTs sound familiar to you), they could be beautiful places "Houses of water, wind and sun" Oases.
Something already intense, profound, futuristic without Manrique. Renovating.
In La Graciosa, a desalination plant powered by solar energy integrated into the urban environment is already being planned. With its public fountain managed by the community. In other areas of Lanzarote, solutions adapted to the needs and characteristics of each territory could be developed.
These initiatives will not completely replace conventional generation, but they can:
Reduce dependence on fossil fuels in a strategic sector such as water.
Increase the resilience of the system against incidents.
Produce water for the agricultural sector with a smaller environmental footprint.
Generate qualified employment in areas such as desalination operation, electrical maintenance, or water management.
While large projects advance slowly, these small public infrastructures can offer us a margin of safety and adaptability.
An opportunity for new generations
It is necessary to train specialists in desalination, renewable energies, industrial maintenance, water chemistry, and efficient agriculture.
But it is not just a matter of employment. It is about taking care of the island and its people.
I imagine a Lanzarote that is also a benchmark in knowledge about water, agriculture, and energy transition (the sea is another topic on its own). An island capable of exporting experience and solutions adapted to fragile territories with limited resources.
An island that, being a pioneer in desalination and water management, has also paid the price of breaking ground with hardly any previous experiences to look at and learn from. This has led us to make important mistakes, but now it is up to us to assume them, learn from them, and rebuild ourselves from the accumulated knowledge and acquired experience.
I have dedicated a large part of my life to reflecting on these issues. As a child, I drank water from the cistern at home, with more or less rain and from Famara. Then came the Rubicón well, the Alegranza cistern, the desalination plants, and plastic bottles. And some magical springs in La Isla in the courtyards. Few will be left for me to try.
I have always tried to be respectful of water, aware of its value.
I know that no solution is perfect. Desalination has impacts that must be minimized; brine management must be done responsibly, but without paranoia; the manufacturing of wind turbines and solar panels also has environmental costs. What doesn't? You know, the fleet of motorized vehicles in the Canary Islands in single file would reach the ends of the Pacific Ocean. Curiously, almost the same as the line of tourists with ½ meter between them. But imagine them in reverse, those lines entering.
But I also know that with the current population of Lanzarote, having safe water is an unquestionable necessity.
We are an island. What we do here will not solve all the problems of the planet. But we can reinforce our water and energy security, reduce our vulnerability, and pollute the world less.
We have alternatives. Continuing exactly the same is also a decision. And it is probably the riskiest and dirtiest option.
This is a strictly personal opinion.
For years I spoke on behalf of collective organizations. Today I speak solely from my life experience.
I am seventy years old and I allow myself to exercise the right to express what I think.
I dream that the boys and girls who inhabit La Graciosa and Lanzarote will continue to enjoy the sea, the wind, and this extraordinary place. I dream of an island capable of producing water, energy, and food with intelligence and responsibility.
And above all, I dream that Arrecife and Las Caletas will not be the place for what nobody wants.
Because I imagine that if in the end nothing is done but new thermal power plants, nobody will want them in "their backyard". Well, I don't imagine it, I know it.
Because if anyone needs a respite in their air, their sea, and their land, it is Arrecife. My origin
Needless to say, with all due respect and understanding everyone's arguments, I assume as my own the errors made in the installation of the Santa mill, but I am in favor of leaving it and continuing the process.
I know what hubaras are. In my time, another person and I, against everyone, stopped the hunting that had them on the brink. I believe they would be benevolent towards me now.
It was not easy at all. Poaching shotguns, some from authorities, are never easy to deal with. Less so back then.
The opposition was not comments in the press or on social media.
So, if necessary, I apologize because the windmills of San Bartolomé and La Santa seem like a marvel to me. Aesthetics are part of political culture. I'm talking about culture and politics. And desire. Ultimately, about love.
And about ecology because two things that do terrible damage to us, to the environment, are extreme wealth and poverty. To a lesser extent, wealth and poverty. Without water and electricity, and what is happening in Dakhla and the world, poverty will be guaranteed.
And the rainwater and what ends up in the cisterns is nowhere near what it used to be.
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