Spain’s smallest of its Canary Islands will be a world-first becoming fully energy self-sufficient via wind and desalination.
El Hierroisland will open a wind farm consisting of five turbines near the capital of Valverde totaling 11.5 MW at the end of June. It will supply enough power to meet the local demand plus with surplus for export. Island officials said that many islands are powered via wind and solar, but El Hierro is the first that will use a combination of desalination and wind power to secure a constant supply of electricity.
Once the $110-million plant is complete, it will generate enough of power to supply 50% of the island’s electricity. And in the following months, that will increase to 100%. The local government owns 60% of the plant with 30% of the stakes being held by Spain’s energy company Endesa (an Enel subsidiary) and 10% via a local technology institute.
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