en.Wedoany.com Reported - Mariano Hernández Zapata, advisor for Ecological Transition of the Government of the Canary Islands, has proposed installing a power generation ship at the Port of Las Palmas to cover the energy deficit on Gran Canaria and prevent blackouts, provided the vessel meets all environmental requirements.

During a meeting presenting the results of his department's three-year legislative term, the advisor stated that, according to the latest report from Red Eléctrica de España, the energy gap on Gran Canaria is 130 megawatts. The vessel, serving as a floating power station, could provide 100 megawatts, with the remaining 30 megawatt gap planned to be covered by two emergency power plants in El Goro, Telde.

The Port Authority of Las Palmas has requested the department to prepare an environmental impact report to advance the installation of the floating power station. Hernández Zapata indicated that the station could be operational within a year. He emphasized that Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura are the islands with the most pronounced power generation issues, with the former facing a more severe situation.

The advisor noted that strengthening the Canary Islands' power system has become a key priority of the legislative term since the declaration of an energy emergency in the archipelago in October 2023. He expressed satisfaction if offshore wind tenders could be launched by the end of the year and if the Ministry for Ecological Transition extends the execution deadline for the Next Generation funds allocated for renewable energy installations, in order to avoid returning funds for facilities worth 100 million euros that have been awarded but not yet executed.

Zapata recalled that the government has initiated ten emergency power generation measures to prevent blackouts, lifted a tender for conventional power generation upgrades that had been stalled for over thirteen years and announced a second tender, and launched the electrical interconnection between Tenerife and La Gomera. Furthermore, to advance the energy transition, he mentioned promoting energy storage through strategic projects such as the Chira pumped-storage hydroelectric plant on Gran Canaria and the proposed Güímar pumped-storage hydroelectric plant on Tenerife, and incorporating battery storage into measures to strengthen power supply security.