The adviser for Ecological Transition and Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands, Mariano Hernández Zapata, has assured this Thursday that the electricity generation facilities awarded in the 'express contest' to cover the deficit of 268 megawatts existing in the archipelago have been located in ports and industrial areas and are "safe".
In the parliamentary commission, and in response to a question raised by the Socialist Group, he has stressed that "security" is being provided to the electricity supply on the islands, noting that the previous Executive knew about the shortcomings of the system and did nothing.
Zapata has pointed out that, probably, last week Tenerife "did not go to zero" after a partial outage that affected 16,000 subscribers thanks to the new groups installed through an "open, transparent procedure, with public rules" and supervised by the Ministry of Ecological Transition itself, which is the one that finances the actions.
He has explained that the selection of the locations of each plant was made following criteria of minimal impact, proximity to the grid, ease of access and safety, which has led to prioritizing industrial land and port enclosures.
Likewise, he has emphasized that the regional Executive has "nothing to do" with the effective commissioning of the groups, since that competence corresponds to Red Eléctrica.
In this context, he has detailed that in Telde the El Goro industrial estate was chosen, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the port via a floating power station and in Los Realejos the La Gañanía industrial estate, backed by an environmental impact report that justifies this alternative over the initially planned location on rural land.
"I understand, of course, the concern of the neighbors and that is why I want to be very clear about what matters: those plants are safe, each one has the favorable emergency, public health and environmental reports and complies with all current legislation", he has reiterated.
He has added that these groups operate with propane or gas oil and that their emissions are between 20 and 30% lower than those of the equipment currently generating electricity in the Canary Islands, and that they are also "temporary plants" that are only put into operation when there is a risk of a blackout and will remain operational until the archipelago's power stations are renewed.
Specific operation in Los Realejos and rejection by neighbors
As an example, he has stated that the plant already operating in Los Realejos has been running for about 20 hours in the first four months, including the tests, which amounts to less than 1% of the time.
"Our obligation is to listen to the neighbors, to inform with transparency and to demand all guarantees, but our responsibility is also that Tenerife does not remain in the dark," he has stated, insisting that these groups do not represent the energy model desired for the Canary Islands, but "an emergency response to a risk that the previous Government knew about and did not address; the structural solution is to renew generation, add storage, and increase the amount of renewable plants."
For her part, Alicia Vanostende (PSOE) has pointed out that it was "necessary" to push the 'concurso expres' in the face of the energy deficit in the islands, although she has emphasized that there have been "many problems" of social rejection, especially in Telde and Los Realejos.
The deputy has asked the minister whether acoustic and risk studies have been carried out "before giving the go-ahead," with special reference to the installation at La Gañanía, since residents claim that the plant "is starting up with quite a lot of frequency."