Ecoener starts up five wind farms in La Gomera after investing 17 million euros in them

The Ecoener Group has started up today, in San Sebastián de La Gomera, five new wind farms with a combined generation capacity of 12 MW and which have required an investment of more than 17 million euros. Three of the five new wind farms are located in the area of Las Cabezadas and two in El Camello.

The official presentation took place this Thursday in a ceremony attended by the president of Ecoener, Luis de Valdivia; the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres; the president of the Cabildo of La Gomera, Casimiro Curbelo, and the mayor of San Sebastián de La Gomera, Adasat Reyes, among other authorities and representatives of business and social organizations of the island.

Torres highlighted the importance for the whole Canary Islands of the conclusion of a project of this magnitude and rejected those who defend that the wind farms "threaten the landscape". In fact, he maintained that "what is detrimental to the landscape" is pollution, while the windmills "occupy a certain space".

Thus, he defended that it is necessary to be "brave" in this [in promoting renewable energies] and he trusted that "all the cabildos" bet on it, as well as all the 88 municipalities of the Canary Islands. Likewise, the president highlighted that in these last four years 700 megawatts of renewable energies have been authorized, more than the power installed until 2019 (600 megawatts).

The president of Ecoener, Luis de Valdivia, said that it is a "great day" and declared that the company is "very proud" of this "constructive and logistical milestone", "the result of the efforts of so many people and of contributing to the La Gomera 100% Sustainable Plan".

He pointed out that the parts have come directly by ship from Germany in something he described as a real "feat", as it is the assembly in four months, plus two months for the completion of the connection to the networks.

He also pledged to continue contributing to the energy transition in the Canary Islands, where Ecoener has already invested more than 140 million euros in all its assets over the last 20 years.

The president of the Cabildo of La Gomera, for his part, explained that today is "a historic day" because the five wind farms that are being commissioned on the island today are "capable of generating more energy" than the island itself needs and which will be able to be exported to Tenerife very soon.

"We are fortunate that on the 20th of this month the works of the electrical connection of Tenerife and La Gomera began. With which means that in 2025 we will be able to bring clean wind energy to the neighboring island," he explained.

Thus, he said that he is "very pleased that private initiative and public action come to establish guidelines for shared work so that what is happening today". "La Gomera is going to be the island of the Canary Islands, which despite having joined the fight against climate change and, therefore, the commitment to renewable energy, will be the first 100% sustainable," he said.

The mayor of San Sebastián de La Gomera, meanwhile, advocated "taking advantage of an unquestionable characteristic of the municipality of San Sebastián de La Gomera and of the island of La Gomera" such as the wind and defended that, although it produces "a certain aesthetic visual impact", "it is worth it because everyone is already "aware of climate change".

Landmark in construction activity

The wind farms in La Gomera have been a "milestone" in Ecoener's history, as they have been built in little more than four months despite the orographic and meteorological conditions of the area where they are located. A multidisciplinary team of 200 professionals worked on the construction process.

These assets also summarize the main pillars of Ecoener's strategy: "a firm commitment to renewable energies to reduce emissions; technological innovation with state-of-the-art equipment to improve energy efficiency and environmental protection; and a commitment to society and the local economy".

Environmental regeneration with native flora

The wind farms of La Gomera also have a specific environmental action consisting of an ambitious environmental regeneration and recovery program in collaboration with the nursery of the Cabildo de La Gomera and the Asociación para la Diversidad Funcional de La Gomera (Association for the Functional Diversity of La Gomera).

In collaboration with these entities, the revegetation of more than 1,000 native trees and bushes covering a total area of 21,000 square meters is being carried out. The species used in this action are, among others, tedera, balo and verode.

In addition, the wind turbines of the wind farms have been equipped with modern environmental conservation systems to guarantee the protection of birdlife.

The new wind farms in La Gomera have the capacity to supply renewable energy to almost 11,000 homes and will avoid the emission of more than 23,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, a significant contribution to the total decarbonization of the Canary Islands, scheduled for 2040. With the inauguration of this wind farm complex, Ecoener takes an important step in the development of the company's strategic plan.

International dimension

The capacity of Ecoener's assets in operation and under construction has reached 420 MW. Of these, 45% are located in Spain and 55% in the Americas.

The assets in production consist of 7 hydroelectric power plants, 15 wind farms and 13 photovoltaic plants. The company has around 1.7 GW under development with expansion and growth projects worldwide.

Ecoener posted a net profit of E20.2 million in 2022, up 3.6 times compared to E5.6 million in 2021 and achieved revenues of E72.9 million, up 83% from E39.9 million in 2021, with production of 382 GWh.