Canary Islands Government, Cabildo and Puerto del Rosario Council assess Fuerteventura's energy situation

The Canary Islands’ Minister of Ecological Transition and Energy, Mariano Zapata, held a working meeting on Monday with the President of the Fuerteventura Cabildo, Lola García, and the Mayor of Puerto del Rosario, David de Vera, to discuss the island’s energy situation and coordinate actions aimed at guaranteeing electricity supply.

Regional ministers Jéssica de León and Manuel Miranda also participated. The meeting, requested by the Puerto del Rosario City Council, examined both the upcoming tender for new conventional generation and the emergency measures currently underway on the island.

During the session, Zapata noted that the Canary Islands have gone more than thirteen years without launching a new conventional generation tender, a gap that, he said, has weakened the electric system’s response capacity on islands such as Fuerteventura.

He explained that the sites included in the competitive bidding process are part of a program driven by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, and have not been directly selected by the regional government.

Zapata also confirmed that the regional executive has forwarded to the Ministry the urban‑planning and territorial concerns raised by local authorities, including the rejection of any expansion or extension of the Las Salinas power plant in El Charco—a stance shared by both the Cabildo and the capital’s City Council.

He reminded that the current resolutions do not constitute final authorizations, as the projects must still clear environmental, territorial and sectoral procedures. According to Zapata, the new units planned would be more modern, efficient and less polluting than the existing ones.

García emphasized that the major institutions have submitted various objections and motions calling for the removal of the El Charco plant, highlighting the need for institutional coordination to achieve its definitive dismantling.

Mayor de Vera expressed opposition to building new permanent energy infrastructures outside the Zurita area defined in the Puerto del Rosario General Plan, urging a consensual planning approach among administrations and the bidders in the energy tender.

All parties agreed on the necessity to advance both conventional supply guarantees and the development of renewable energies to build a safer, more sustainable energy system for Fuerteventura.

The meeting also reviewed temporary emergency actions intended to cover the island’s energy deficit while the structural solutions progress.