The island of El Hierro 100% renewable for 1,974 uninterrupted hours

The Canary Island achieved electrical self-sufficiency from January 25 to February 12 without interruption thanks to the renewable energy produced by the Gorona del Viento plant.

As if it were a utopian story, the island of El Hierro has recently managed to demonstrate that renewable energy can provide a reliable and constant source of electricity generation.

This is revealed by the 18 days in which this island of 10,000 inhabitants has been self-sufficient. Thanks to the electricity generated by the Gorona del Viento wind farm.

The previous record, achieved in June 2017, allowed for a continuous supply of energy for 8 days. During this time, not a single kilowatt was produced using fossil fuels.

The innovative Gorona del Viento system

This milestone confirms the important role that this plant is playing in the energy transformation of the island. And it has been achieved thanks to the strong and constant winds that have hit the Canary Islands.

Gorona del Viento combines, through an innovative system, a wind plant with a hydroelectric installation. Allowing water flow to be pumped from a lower reservoir to an upper one with the surplus energy produced by the wind turbines.

Thus, it uses this resource when there is a lack of wind. This operation has allowed, according to the company in charge of the plant, that 46.5% of all the energy consumed by the island during the last year comes from renewable sources.

To this end, the renewable power achieved by Gorona del Viento has been 20,234 megawatts, 5.8% higher than the previous year.

The facility became fully operational in July 2015. During its first year of operation, which was actually six months, it covered 19.2% of the total demand. Far exceeding the contribution that the renewable energy mix represented for the island of El Hierro prior to its entry into operation: 2.3%.