The Canary Islands Government has cleared the regulatory path for the new power line in southern Gran Canaria, a 10-kilometer infrastructure project that will connect the Santa Águeda and El Tablero substations. The resolution from the Directorate General for Environmental Quality, dated April 2026 and accessed by Maspalomas24H, puts an end to nearly a decade of technical and community obstacles by approving the route known as "Alternative 4." This design replaces the visual impact of high-voltage towers in sensitive areas with extensive undergrounding, which, while opening up the skyline, will shift the pressure of the construction work to the urban center of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
The residential area of El Tablero is the most affected by the implementation phase of this project by Red Eléctrica de España (REE). The environmental impact report details the opening of trenches in strategic thoroughfares such as Dr. Agustín Millares Carló Street, Francisco Vega Monroy Avenue, and Chile and Cartago Streets. The San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council has expressed its opposition to the underground section, warning of the disruptions caused by traffic closures on main roads and at the GC-1 interchanges connecting to Sonneland, which will compromise mobility in a high-density tourist area.
Public health has entered the technical debate with a report from the Canary Islands Health Service warning of increased exposure of residents to noise, vibrations, and gases during the construction period. Although regulations guarantee that electromagnetic fields remain within legal limits, the health agency emphasizes the visual impact during the operational phase and the concerns of residents in areas like Pedrazo Bajo. The undergrounding strategy aims to mitigate these complaints, finally avoiding the overhead lines for critical infrastructure that halted previous plans.
This new design overcomes the "problem areas" that forced the abandonment of the original project in 2019. The cabling will no longer pass over the Anita Conrad school nor will it affect the plots of land belonging to Maspalomas Golf and Satga Investments, whose plans for a new golf course clashed with the overhead lines. Furthermore, the 200-meter exclusion zone imposed by the Maspalomas Space Center (INTA) is respected. This technological easement has influenced the location of the overhead pylons in the Lomo de Santa Águeda area, where the route still overlaps with sweet spurge scrubland habitats.
The construction of the Santa Águeda-El Tablero 2 power line is justified by the urgent need to stabilize the island's electrical grid in the face of increased demand and the commissioning of the Salto de Chira hydroelectric plant. The infrastructure will serve as the necessary circulatory system to integrate renewable energy in the south, even if the price to pay is the industrialization of the urban subsoil. The Gran Canaria Island Council has conditioned its approval on strict archaeological monitoring, given the possibility that the excavations could affect heritage remains in an area of high ethnographic sensitivity.
