Green light given to the BESS energy storage project, a hybridization of the Llanos de La Aldea I solar thermal power plant, a key infrastructure for the stability of the electrical system in the island's tourism sector. The installation, promoted by an Ecoener subsidiary, has a construction budget of €4.674.902,98. The main objective is the hybridization of an existing photovoltaic plant in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, allowing the solar energy captured during the day to be strategically managed and fed into the grid.
The project is located in Polygon 10, affecting plots 6 and 7 of the southern municipality. Technically, the plant will have four storage units using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, with a capacity of 4,5 MWh per unit. The system is completed with a 6.800 kVA transformer substation and a network of inverters that limit the nominal power to 4 MW. This technical configuration is essential to avoid the intermittency inherent in renewable energy sources and ensure that the electricity supply for southern Gran Canaria does not depend exclusively on real-time generation.
The interconnection infrastructure will consist of a nearly 300-meter underground medium-voltage line, linking the new battery storage facility to the existing transformer substation at the Llanos de La Aldea I solar park. This substantial modification to the original plant is in response to new regulations from the Directorate General of Energy, which aim to incentivize energy storage to maximize the use of solar resources in the Canary Islands. The project is currently in a 30-day public consultation period, during which any interested party may submit comments or review the technical documentation at the Multi-Purpose Building III in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
This business move by Ecoener reinforces the trend among energy companies to transform traditional solar plants into smart assets capable of competing in the grid balancing market. In a context where the Canary Islands' energy vulnerability is a constant topic of debate, the investment of over €4,6 million in San Bartolomé de Tirajana positions the municipality not only as a leading holiday destination but also as a technological hub for energy storage. The completion of this project, ER250035, will represent a decisive step towards the decarbonization of the island's south, using a hybridization model that is already the standard in the aerospace and renewable energy industries.
