Cabildo challenges state power plan, rejecting cable to Gran Canaria and El Charco plant

The rejection of the offshore‑wind implementation from another plan, the POEM, is also among the Cabildo of Fuerteventura’s arguments. The institution announced objections to the 2025‑2030 state electricity planning to demand a substation in Zurita that would allow relocating the El Charco plant, eliminate offshore‑wind zones that affect fishing, and discard the electrical link with Gran Canaria.

The Cabildo of Fuerteventura has lodged formal objections to the state‑run electricity‑transport network plan for the 2025‑2030 period, insisting that the document be adapted to the island’s specific characteristics and real demand. The main points of the appeal are:

• Relocation of the El Charco thermal power plant – by building a substation in the Llanos Pelados (Zurita) area.
• Elimination of offshore‑wind zones included in the POEM (Maritime Spatial Planning) that threaten fisheries and marine biodiversity.
• Rejection of the submarine cable that would connect Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura.
• Promotion of energy storage and demand‑side management within the island’s own limits to guarantee local supply.
• Consideration of underground transmission lines in environmentally sensitive zones to protect biodiversity and natural heritage.

“The Directorate General of Energy of the Canary Islands Government was consulted by this institution about the Strategic Initial Planning Document, without receiving any response,” explained island president Lola García.

“We are forced to insist and submit new objections so that the State planning includes the location of a substation in the Llanos Pelados area (Zurita), so that the El Charco thermal power plant can be relocated, a historic demand of institutions and the Majorero population,” García added.

The island’s territorial planning councilor, Nereida Calero, emphasized the broader implications:

“This is yet another example of supranational institutions not respecting the demands of local administrations.”

“Energy planning must progress in an orderly manner across the territory, and the island must generate what it needs to consume and not sacrifice our territory to supply other islands.”

In this context, the Cabildo urges that the electricity‑transport network must not include any link between Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura and should instead focus on local storage solutions and demand management to ensure a reliable insular supply.

The objections also propose environmental integration criteria, such as evaluating the burial of transmission lines in sensitive areas to mitigate impacts on biodiversity and natural heritage, alongside other strategic considerations for the Majorero territory.