tenerife geothermal energy breakthrough vilaflor

Tenerife strikes geothermal energy in Vilaflor

Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.

Tenerife finds geothermal energy beneath Vilaflor

Tenerife has just taken a historic step in the search for new sources of energy: it has found geothermal resources beneath its surface with a high potential for exploitation. For the first time, a deep drilling operation has provided direct evidence of the simultaneous presence of heat, water at more than 150 degrees and permeability in the rock — the three essential elements for a conventional geothermal system capable of being harnessed to produce energy. The heat underground, generated mainly by volcanic activity, could become a “fuel” to power the island.

The discovery, which places Tenerife at the forefront of the Canary Islands and Spain in the search for this thermal source, was made in Vilaflor from a depth of 2,300 metres, and represents a milestone in research that for years had relied on studies from the surface. It has now been possible to verify directly what the island hides beneath its feet.

A new renewable source for an island territory

The importance of the find goes far beyond confirming scientific expectations. The island now has the possibility of incorporating a new, one hundred per cent renewable energy source, with characteristics that are especially valuable for an island territory: it can generate electricity continuously, occupies little land and will make it possible to replace part of the production that still depends on imported fossil fuels.

The discovery of the first signs of a geothermal system with energy potential in Tenerife bears the signature of the British company Marriott Drilling Group, one of the largest deep onshore drilling companies in the world. It was contracted to carry out the surveys in Vilaflor by the public-private consortium Energía Geotérmica de Canarias (EGC), made up of the Cabildo de Tenerife — through the Instituto Tecnológico y de Energías Renovables (ITER) — and the companies Disa and Reykjavik Geothermal. The drilling point is located specifically in the Trevejos area, at an altitude of 1,630 metres.

Drilling to continue to 3,000 metres

Once the existence of geothermal resources has been confirmed, the consortium will continue with the soundings at this point in the uplands of Tenerife and at another located four kilometres east of Trevejos to confirm whether that energy can be exploited. The work will continue over the coming months until the drillings reach a depth of 3,000 metres. Once completed, the measurements will begin.

These tests will make it possible to analyse fundamental parameters such as the final temperature of the reservoir, the pressure, the available flow rate, the behaviour of the water at depth and the system’s capacity to maintain stable production over time. With that information, it will be possible to determine the available thermal power, its possible conversion into electricity and the technical and economic viability of a future commercial exploitation. The probabilities, which were already above 60%, are even higher after these first satisfactory indications.

First borehole already past 2,500 metres

The first deep geothermal research borehole in Vilaflor began last February and has already passed 2,500 metres of the 3,000 planned. It was on passing 2,300 metres that the drilling crossed zones where the heat source, the permeability that allows fluids to circulate and the presence of water appear together. The model that is beginning to emerge is that of a deep geothermal system with natural recharge. Water infiltrates the ground, circulates through permeable zones of rock and is heated by the high thermal flow existing at great depth. It is precisely that energy accumulated underground which, if subsequent tests confirm suitable conditions, could be harnessed to generate electricity. That is where much of the opportunity now opening up lies.

Round-the-clock power to complement solar and wind

Geothermal energy has a fundamental difference compared with the two major renewables already deployed in Tenerife. It does not depend on the sun shining or the wind blowing. A plant can produce energy in a manageable way 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It would therefore not compete with photovoltaic and wind power, but complement them. When weather conditions reduce solar or wind production, the geothermal resource can continue operating. That stability would also make it easier to incorporate more of the other renewables into the island’s electricity system.

At present, 80% of Tenerife’s electricity mix comes from fossil fuels, while only 20% is generated by clean energies. As well as reducing polluting emissions, this substitution will help to lessen the island energy system’s exposure to international fluctuations in the price of oil and to strengthen Tenerife’s energy security and sovereignty.

Potential savings of €19 million a year

Estimates carried out within the framework of the project show that a significant development of geothermal energy will have a relevant impact both on emissions and on the costs of the electricity system. In a hypothetical scenario of 10 megawatts of geothermal power, studies estimate potential savings of around 19 million euros a year in fossil fuel imports and 65,000 tonnes of CO₂ that would no longer be emitted into the atmosphere. To put the impact of this 10-megawatt plant into perspective, the Earth’s basal heat would generate continuous electricity to supply 24,000 households, more than 60,000 people. In addition, this substitution would avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking more than 14,000 cars off the road for a year or planting a forest of three million trees.

Tenerife joins the global geothermal leaders

The island is thus placed at the cutting edge of harnessing heat from the depths. And it is setting out on the path to joining the countries that already make the most of it, principally Iceland, the United States, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey, Kenya and Mexico.

Tenerife in fact accounts for three of the projects selected by the state programme of aid for deep geothermal energy, with funding of 43.2 million euros from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the NextGenerationEU funds. The Canary Islands as a whole received 106.2 million euros from this call, close to 90% of the national budget allocated to this research, a reflection of the special potential that volcanic islands present for the development of this technology.

The island is taking the lead in the archipelago in the race for an energy treasure that is now closer to coming to light. Behind Tenerife is Gran Canaria, which is finalising its first 2,700-metre pilot well in a 36-square-kilometre area delimited in the south-east of the island, between Valsequillo and Agüimes. La Palma, for its part, the territory with the most evident surface thermal anomalies following the 2021 Tajogaite eruption, is advancing at a slower administrative pace due to mining rights tenders, although it has an extension for the execution of the European funds until December 2028. Once the real energy generation capacity has been confirmed, the next step will be to design a geothermal plant. All the studies point to the same place where the surveys are being carried out: the mountain slopes of Vilaflor de Chasna.

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