Fedarene Committee Visits Salto de Chira Hydroelectric Plant and Biogreenfinery Project, as Minister Raúl García Brink Highlights Collaborative Climate Resilience Efforts

Gran Canaria, 4 September 2024 — The Executive Management Committee of the European Federation of Energy and Environment Agencies and Regions (Fedarene) visited Gran Canaria from 2 to 4 September to learn about the Island Energy Council’s (CIEGC) progress and projects related to the island’s energy transition, as part of its 2040 roadmap.

The CIEGC has recently become a member of the Fedarene College of Islands. The Councillor for Environment, Climate, Energy and Knowledge of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Raúl García Brink, along with the Director of the Island Council of Energy, Alexis Lozano, accompanied the European representatives on visits to key project sites where the island’s Energy Transition Agenda is being implemented.

“For the past two days, we have demonstrated to the Fedarene committee our strong commitment to climate resilience and energy transition”, explained Raúl García Brink. “We’ve exchanged ideas and fostered cooperation between regions, to implement measures that support the island in achieving its ambitious Green Deal.”

He also expressed CIEGC’s satisfaction with its recent Fedarene membership, “which brings together over 80 European energy and environmental agencies, underscoring Gran Canaria’s important role on the European stage in terms of innovative environmental policies and projects.”

Visit to Leading Sustainability Projects

On the first day, the President of the Island Council, Antonio Morales, welcomed the committee, which included Fedarene President Julije Domac, Deputy Secretary General Patrick Biard, and Director and Deputy Director, Filip Dumitriu and Elodie Bossio, respectively.

The committee then visited the Salto de Chira hydroelectric power station, a key infrastructure project advancing the sustainability of the Canary Islands’ new energy model, focused on renewable energy sources.

Ainara Irigoyen, Redeia’s representative in the Canary Islands, and the project management team, explained the workings of the future energy storage facility. They noted that it “will be a crucial tool for operating the electrical system, improving supply reliability, system security, and the integration of green energy on the island of Gran Canaria.”

The Fedarene delegation also visited Biogreenfinery, another major project in the island’s energy transition. This pioneering infrastructure, led by the Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC) — also a Fedarene member — focuses on the production of green hydrogen as a precursor for new synthetic fuels.

This 100% renewable experimental plant, inaugurated in November 2023 in Pozo Izquierdo with nearly six million euros in investment fully funded by REACT-EU, paves the way for applied research and the development of zero-emission fuels for land and sea transport. It is a state-of-the-art facility, crucial for continuing innovation in non-polluting alternative fuel production and advancing the shift towards a more sustainable energy model.

On the second day, a series of meetings were held at the headquarters of the Island Energy Council, alongside the Canary Islands Institute of Technology, where system operators and energy companies discussed the challenges of implementing renewable energy in an isolated and ultra-peripheral region.

The discussions also addressed the specific challenges faced by island territories with high population densities and significant tourism, like Gran Canaria and Tenerife, in achieving carbon neutrality. The need for European institutions to support these unique realities was highlighted.

The committee further emphasised the importance of strengthening ties between Fedarene and EU institutions to support energy transitions on the islands and foster community involvement in sustainable projects. Gran Canaria was recognised as a pioneering example in its journey towards energy autonomy and its transformation into an eco-island.

“At FEDARENE we are very impressed with the high level of ambition and great results achieved in Gran Canaria. As an island it is very important to reach a resource sovereignty, to be able to control your energy, food, water. Gran Canaria shows by example how to do it and we hope in the years to come to work even closer to export your knowledge in Europe and support you in your ambitions.“

Julije Domac, FEDARENE President and CEO of North-West Croatia Energy Agency