PP criticizes Fuerteventura council's "paralysis" on energy planning

The People’s Party (PP) of Fuerteventura has condemned the island’s Cabildo for its handling of energy planning, accusing the institution of maintaining a state of “paralysis” that, in its view, leaves the island without the tools needed to regulate the development of renewable energy projects.

The party’s statements came after the joint manifesto signed by the Cabildos of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote concerning the Renewable Acceleration Zones (ZAR) promoted by the Canary Islands Government.

Lack of Energy Planning

The PP argues that the Cabildo has focused its actions on expressing opposition to the ZAR without advancing the approval of key territorial planning instruments.

• Fuerteventura currently lacks an updated Island Planning Plan and has no approved Territorial Energy Plan, which, according to the PP, puts the island at a disadvantage when energy projects are proposed.

For the PP’s spokesperson in the Cabildo, Claudio Gutiérrez, this situation is a direct consequence of the island government’s inaction:

“We agree that the territory comes first, but the territory is protected by approving the Territorial Energy Plan or revising the Island Planning Plan. What we demand is dialogue and, above all, realistic proposals.”

Application of Article 6‑bis

The PP maintains that the absence of these planning instruments has triggered the application of Article 6‑bis of Law 11/1997 on the regulation of the Canary Islands electricity sector, which allows renewable projects to proceed in the absence of specific territorial planning.

According to the party, if Fuerteventura already had a Territorial Energy Plan, many of the submitted projects would have been required to conform to the island’s planning framework beforehand.

Criticism for Not Applying for Renewable‑Energy Grants

The PP also questions the governing coalition’s management, asserting that the Cabildo did not apply for the subsidies announced by the Canary Islands Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy aimed at promoting renewable installations in built‑up areas such as rooftops or parking lots.

The party notes that these subsidies could have fostered an alternative model to large installations on rural land, a point the Cabildo itself has recently criticized.

Call for Dialogue and Proper Planning

The People’s Party argues that the island’s energy transition must be planned and coherent, urging the Cabildo to launch the necessary instruments to orderly manage the territory.

In Gutiérrez’s words:

“Fuerteventura’s energy sovereignty is not defended with signatures on paper, but with plans published in the Official Gazette.”

He concluded by emphasizing that the energy emergency and the climate‑change challenge require technical decisions and proper planning, to avoid a disorderly rollout of renewable projects across the island.