AFTER a year of hydro-wind power, El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands, has turned off its diesel engines.
The island is set to be run entirely on wind power from this week.
The wind power is provided by the Gorona del Viento power plant, which houses five industrial wind turbines and two lakes.
The power plant has created an innovative system of connecting its hydro and wind-based sectors to allow for no power interruption.
The island houses more than 10,000 inhabitants and uses around 48 gigawatt hours per year.
The Canary Islands government has expressed its goal of reaching 60% renewably sourced energy in the next 20 years, and then reach 100% by 2050.
And if they built energy efficient homes, using energy efficient food storage, only LED lights they would’nt need 5 w/turbines. The biggest plus has’nt been mentioned, they cannot be held to ransom over fossil fuel, they now have electricity freedom the biggest gain of all in the 21st century. Access to electricity is the key to the elite’s hold over the general population: no electricity = access to the modern world denied – think about it.