Government approves SAMPOL to install 10 units totaling 18 MW

Emergency Generation Plan

The installations will increase the power available to the grids of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

The Canary Islands Council of Government, at the proposal of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy, has agreed to advance the processing of a second emergency‑generation plant on the island of Fuerteventura.

The move is part of the extraordinary measures already announced to strengthen the security of the electricity supply across the archipelago and to prevent possible blackouts following the energy‑emergency declaration of 2 October 2023.

The plant will be operated by SAMPOL and will be activated only when needed, i.e., in the event of a real risk of blackout, thereby guaranteeing the safety of the population at all times. It is a provisional, safe solution that will cost the Canary Islands nothing, as it will be fully financed by the Spanish Government with a budget of €23 million.

The provisional nature of these emergency measures will remain in place until the Canary Islands’ generation park is renewed, once the Ministry resolves the forthcoming competitive tender.

The measure has been designed in coordination with the Cabildo of Fuerteventura to determine the best possible location, as well as with the municipality of Puerto del Rosario.

With this step, the Canary Islands Government continues to reinforce the energy supply of the three islands that suffer a generation deficit: Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. The administrative process will now move toward final authorization by the Directorate General for Energy and subsequent installation.

A similar plant in the same area, known as “Mezque,” was approved on 29 September 2025 by the Council of Government. It will be managed by DISA, will have a capacity of 15 MW, and a budget of €24.5 million.

It is important to underline that the ordinary procurement procedure for new electricity generation in the Canary Islands continues its course, with the provisional resolution already published by the Ministry, ensuring a transition toward a renewed and stable system in the near future.

In this context, the approved emergency plants constitute a temporary, time‑limited solution whose role is to guarantee energy coverage only until the definitive installations resulting from the tender become operational.

Transitory and Safe Actions

• The plant located in La Herradura consists of 10 generating units, each with a capacity of 1.8 MW, totaling 18 MW of electric power.
• The units have been specifically designed for easy assembly and disassembly, meeting the emergency’s requirements and the plant’s provisional character.
• To evacuate electricity to the transmission sub‑station of Red Eléctrica de España in Puerto del Rosario, a 170‑metre underground line will be built, linking the SAMPOL emergency plant with DISA’s “Mezque” plant. Power evacuation to the transmission sub‑station will be carried out jointly by DISA and SAMPOL through a single electrical line.
• The generating units will comply with current environmental regulations, including Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems that ensure emission reductions and operation within the most demanding standards.
• For Fuerteventura, where the system operator (REE) reports a current deficit of 50 MW, this installation together with DISA’s will provide 33 MW of capacity—almost 60 % of the island’s deficit, according to the system operator (Red Eléctrica).