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 uninterruptedly thanks to the renewable energy produced by the Gorona del Viento power plant.

As if it were a utopian tale, the island of El Hierro has recently managed to demonstrate thatrenewable energyThey can provide a reliable and constant source of electricity generation.

This is revealed by the18 daysin which this island of10,000 inhabitantsIt has been self-sufficient. Thanks to the electricity generated by the wind farm ofGorona of the Wind.

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

The innovative system of Gorona del Viento

This milestone confirms the important role this power plant is playing in the island’s energy transformation. And it has been achieved thanks to the strong and consistent winds that have battered the Canary archipelago.

Gorona del Viento combines, through ainnovative system, a power plantwindwith an installationhydroelectricAllowing water to be pumped from a lower reservoir to an upper one using the surplus energy produced by the wind turbines.

Thus, it uses this resource when a lack of wind is reported. This operation has allowed, according to the company in charge of the plant, that46.5% of all energy consumedby the island during the past year comes from renewable sources.

For this purpose, the renewable power achieved by Gorona del Viento has been20,234 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. This far exceeded the contribution of the renewable energy mix to the island of El Hierro prior to its commissioning: 2.3%.