No Substation in Zurita; Thermal Plant to Remain at El Charco

The Consejería de Transición Ecológica y Energía of the Canary Islands government has submitted objections to the draft 2030 Electricity Transmission Network Plan published by the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (Miteco).
The regional executive is asking that the plan include the construction of a substation in the Zurita area of Puerto del Rosario to “make new generation projects viable and accelerate the dismantling of the El Charco thermal power plant,” the area’s minister, Mariano H. Zapata (PP), explained in a statement.

“We request a substation in Zurita to make new generation projects viable in this location, which will speed up the dismantling of the Las Salinas thermal plant,” Zapata said, adding that “we will not accept new groups in the El Charco zone.”

Madrid desoye la petición del Gobierno de Canarias

The Canary Islands’ proposal follows a meeting in Madrid between the regional government and the Ministry, which was described as “positive.” However, the council stresses that critical issues omitted from the first draft must be reflected.

The regional executive calls for a broader transmission network on Fuerteventura to meet future energy needs and address a historic demand: relocating conventional generation outside the urban core of Puerto del Rosario.
The government proposes a consensual roadmap involving the State, the regional executive, the Cabildo, and the Puerto del Rosario municipality to ensure a coordinated relocation that guarantees supply.

El PP de Fuerteventura pide a Cabildo y Ayuntamiento que se sumen a las alegaciones

The People’s Party (PP) of Fuerteventura has urged the Cabildo and the Puerto del Rosario City Council to also file objections to the state plan, reinforcing the Canary Islands executive’s request.

The PP argues that, as the current state planning stands, Fuerteventura lacks alternative locations for energy transport needed to move the existing El Charco power plant.

“If Zurita does not have a network and substation in the state planning, no relocation will be possible, no matter how much the Cabildo of Fuerteventura includes it in its island planning,” said PP spokesperson Claudio Gutiérrez in a statement released on Monday.

Jéssica de León, island president of the PP, and municipal spokesperson Ana Padilla called for “coordination, unity and institutional loyalty” among the State, the regional executive, the Cabildo, and the municipality to make Zurita viable and address a “historic claim.”

Los planes del MITECO para el sistema Fuerteventura – Lanzarote

Miteco’s transmission‑network planning, open to objections, outlines measures to strengthen the stability of the Canary Islands’ electric system, including:

• Installation of synchronous compensators in Jares (Fuerteventura), Arucas (Gran Canaria) and Drago (Tenerife).
• A future submarine interconnection between Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, scheduled for after 2030.

However, the document does not detail any new transport infrastructure in Zurita, which, according to the PP’s protests, leaves the map of needs incomplete for guaranteeing the island’s energy transition.