• The Company has completed all the facilities, ahead of the scheduled deadline set for the end of 2018.
• A fundamental step towards the energy transition and to contribute to the achievement of a more sustainable, safe and efficient energy model in the archipelago.

Red Eléctrica has completed and commissioned the new transmission infrastructure foreseen in the Canary Islands Wind Energy Plan and which is necessary to connect the electricity generated by the new wind and photovoltaic farms to the electricity systems on the islands, with a total planned investment of 434 million euros.

The fulfilment of the Canary Islands Wind Energy Plan is a necessary and very significant step towards the energy transition in an electrification process for society that will change the way of generating, distributing and consuming electricity, and involves new substations and electricity lines with the most advanced technologies, which have been designed with sustainability criteria in order to adapt them to the territory and minimise their impact.

Red Eléctrica’s General Manager of Transmission Division, Eva Pagán, accompanied by the Minister for Economy, Industry, Trade and Knowledge of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pedro Ortega; by the Manager of Infrastructure for the Canary Islands’ Area, Daniel Pérez, and by the Company’s Delegate in the Canary Islands, Ainara Irigoyen, presented information on the commissioning of all new substations and associated lines, as well as the enlargements made to other existing substations.

Eva Pagan highlighted that the completion of the Wind Energy Plan "definitely showcases Red Eléctrica's commitment to the Canary Islands, as shown by the volume of investment planned between 2010 and 2025 that exceeds 2.8 billion euros, as well as the deployment of infrastructure and technological projects for the development of the transmission grid, particularly the Wind Energy Plan that has just been completed, in addition to the interconnections between islands, the renovation and improvement of all the existing infrastructure, and the bringing into service of the Soria-Chira pumped-storage hydroelectric power station".

The General Manager of Transmission Division has indicated that "in coordination with the Government of the Canary Islands together with the different administrations and the wind power promoters, we have been able to complete all the facilities of the Wind Energy Plan that are necessary for the evacuation of energy from wind farms ahead of the scheduled deadlines and have also made a significant effort in managing the grid access and connection requests from promoters as well as in the permitting process of the projects of the facilities", and she restated that the goal of Red Eléctrica is "to integrate clean energy sources while at the same time guaranteeing an energy supply of the highest quality at competitive prices".

The new infrastructure, six substations and the enlargement and refurbishment of two existing substations, as well as their associated lines, have enabled a new selection of wind power generation projects to be incorporated on the islands. The new infrastructure makes it possible for the new quota of renewable generation announced by the administrations to be evacuated to the transmission grid.

The Canary Islands Wind Energy Plan has created 5,196 jobs, of which 3,445 correspond to the islands.

According to the Minister for Economy, Industry, Commerce and Knowledge, Pedro Ortega, "the execution of these works has been key to the increase in the implementation of renewable energy in our archipelago during the last three years. This has been the result of the coordination between the Government of the Canary Islands, the system operator and the promoters".

The investment earmarked for the plan exceeds 400 million euros

In Gran Canaria, 33 million euros have been invested in the construction of the 66-kilovolt (kV) Arinaga and Agüimes substations and their associated connection lines, and in the enlargement of the 66 kV Aldea Blanca substation.

In Tenerife, 80 million euros have been invested in the construction of the 220/66 kV El Porís and Abona substations and their associated lines, and in the enlargement of the 66 kV Tagoro substation.

In Lanzarote, with an investment of 17 million euros, the 66 kV Callejones substation has been built and progress has been made on the associated facilities: the 132 kV Tías - Playa Blanca line, and the 132/66 kV Tías and Playa Blanca substations. The investment still pending execution totals 54 million euros.

In Fuerteventura, 77 million euros have been invested in the construction of the 132 kV Jares substation and progress has been made on the associated facilities that include its connection line and other grid developments: the new 132 kV La Oliva-Puerto del Rosario-Gran Tarajal-Matas Blancas axis, the 132 kV La Oliva, Puerto del Rosario, Gran Tarajal and Matas Blancas substations, and the new 66 kV La Oliva-Corralejo and Puerto del Rosario-Salinas lines. The investment still pending execution totals 141 million euros.

In addition, the bolstering of the interconnection between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura will enable both islands to form a single electricity system that will result in greater efficiency and improve their capacity to safely integrate the new renewable generation. The investment planned for this project is 32 million euros.

All-time highs registered for wind power energy

The development of the infrastructure for the transmission grid and for the new wind power generation capacity has recently led to all-time highs for wind power generation in Tenerife, reaching a value of 96.63 MW, which represents an increase of 197% compared to the previous all-time high registered on 29 February 2016, before the implementation of the "Wind Energy Plan".

In Gran Canaria, in the last month, on 2 November, an all-time high for wind power was recorded, reaching a value of 127.55 MW, which represents an increase of 64% compared to the previous record set on 16 February 2016, before the implementation of the "Wind Energy Plan".

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