A small Spanish island is breaking its fossil fuel addiction by using solar energy and wind power to supply all its electricity needs.
El Hierro, also known as Isla del Meridiano (the “Meridian Island”), is the smallest of the Canary Islands and one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations.
Its 11,000 or so inhabitants have traditionally sourced their electricity via diesel powered generators – an expensive and greenhouse gas intensive exercise, amounting to some 18,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year. El Hierro had been importing around 40,000 barrels of crude oil each year for power generation purposes.
But the people of El Hierro can look forward to a clean, renewable energy future – and very soon.
A major project is under way that will see a 11.5 megawatt (MW) wind farm and an 11.3 MW hydroelectric pumped storage plant constructed to provide the island’s residents and visitors with 80 percent of their electricity needs. The remaining 20 percent will be generated by solar thermal units and grid-connected solar power systems. The €54 million project will also provide enough electricity to power three water desalination facilities on El Hierro.
The hydro storage system will store surplus wind power by pumping water to fill the crater of an extinct volcano; creating what is in effect a massive battery. When winds are not favorable, the water will be released, driving turbines to generate electricity. When favourable conditions return, water will be pumped back up into the crater; ready for the next time demand exceeds supply.
Switzerland-based engineering company ABB is playing a lead role in the project by providing technology to electrify and control the hydroelectric pumped storage plant and integrate electricity generated by hydropower and wind turbines into the island’s mains grid.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2011. According to Spain’s Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Commerce, El Hierro will become the first island in the world to be energy independent.
