During the meeting, both parties agreed to highlight the strategic relevance of deep geothermal energy as a renewable energy source capable of providing stable electricity generation 24 hours a day, contributing to reduce external energy dependence and strengthening supply security in an island territory especially vulnerable to fluctuations in energy markets.
Izquierdo pointed out that “La Palma has before it a historic opportunity to lead the development of geothermal energy in Spain and turn its volcanic singularity into a competitive advantage for the coming decades.” The Commissioner also recalled the significant effort made by the public administrations to guarantee the availability of European funding for this type of project and the extension of the implementation deadlines, which allows progress to be made with greater guarantees in an initiative of high technical complexity. For his part, Gurriarán transferred the commitment of DISA Renewables with the promotion of geothermal energy in the Canary Islands and valued positively the institutional collaboration that is being developed to facilitate the execution of the work of exploration and evaluation of the geothermal resource.
The meeting made it possible to monitor the administrative and technical situation of the projects currently under way, as well as to exchange views on the regulatory and financial challenges that must be addressed to promote the development of this technology on the island. In this regard, Izquierdo reiterated that the different administrations continue to work to provide the sector with an adequate framework that provides security for investments and allows to take advantage of the enormous potential existing in La Palma. He also stressed the importance of close collaboration between all the actors involved – institutions, companies, the scientific community and civil society – in order to speed up the process.
The Commissioner stressed that geothermal energy “not only represents an opportunity to move towards energy sovereignty and the objective of an increasingly renewable island, but can also generate new economic opportunities linked to innovation, research, the creation of qualified employment and the development of complementary activities associated with the sustainable use of geothermal resources.” Both parties agreed to maintain permanent channels of coordination to continue promoting this energy project of vital importance for the Island and its reconstruction process.