Photo Gallery
© Carlos González. 1.7 MW wind farm associated with
a sea water desalination plant.
The entire island of Fuerteventura was declared a biosphere reserve in 2009. It is the most ancient of the Canary Islands, the most arid, and the closest to the African coast. It has a surface area of 1659 square kilometres, a population of 106,456 سكان, and attracts 1.6 million tourists each year.
Water and energy are the key factors for the survival of the island and the maintenance of tourism as the main driver of the economy. Dependence on fossil energy has so far been absolute, representing an inadmissible risk for the future of the island.
منذ إعلانها باعتبارها محمية المحيط الحيوي, the island of Fuerteventura set water self-sufficiency combined with renewable energy sources as a target to be achieved by 2020. Photo Gallery.
The wind energy – water desalination binomial
على سطح الطبيعية الحاضر وموارد المياه الجوفية من الجزيرة هي فقط ما يكفي لتغطية مجرد 10% من الطلب, كونها بقية تم الحصول عليها من مياه البحر أو تحلية المياه المالحة.
Partnership between wind farms and desalination plants has been the solution to reduce water dependence. The most important demonstration project has been carried out at Corralejo, in the north of the island. The project consists of a 1.7 MW wind farm for self consumption associated with a sea water desalination plant with a capacity to produce 4000 m3 of water per day. في 2012, the wind farm was able to supply 87.42% of the energy consumption of the desalination plant which supplies the whole tourist area of the north of the island, as well as nearby towns.
Photo Gallery. Data obtained from the operation of the plants at Corralejo indicate payback periods not exceeding seven years, على الرغم من الوضع المالي الحالي.
The public water company was also the promoter of the 10.7 MW wind farm of Cañada del Rio in the south of the island, built in 1994 and that is now being increased to 24 MW. Being them the owners of 60% of the wind farm, water price support has been possible in the last years, favouring social water consumption by reducing costs in the main desalination plant of the island.
الوقود الحيوي, water re-use, and fight against desertification
يربط استراتيجية المياه المتجددة دورة المياه مع إنتاج الوقود الحيوي. The University of La Laguna is in fact successfully developing a pilot project aiming at biofuels production in arid areas from Jatropha curcas Photo Gallery. ويتم تمويل المشروع من قبل الشركة Renovables ديسا. A great advantage of this project is the use of non-conventional water resources, such as desalinated water surplus and treated wastewater, for irrigation.
Preliminary results available on oil and biodiesel quality from Fuerteventura crops are really promising. This initiative is also being developed in the framework of the biosphere reserve’s actions related to the fight against desertification, taking advantage of this crop’s ability to fix soil against erosion, on an island classified of high risk. This is also a project where knowledge is transferred from the University to the productive sector, and that promotes public-private partnership, Photo Gallery.
Solar Ice for the fishermen
© Fuerteventura BR. Solar Ice project in Morro Jable.
Energy consumption to maintain the fish cold for storage and distribution is a relevant part of fishermen communities’ cost structure. Fisheries located in coastal or island areas they have to rely on electricity and fresh water for their ice production process. عدم وجود واحد أو كلا هو أمر شائع جدا.
The pilot project carried out at Morro Jable, in the south of Fuerteventura, uses a well known set of technologies (امتصاص المبرد, الطاقة الشمسية الحرارية, الضوئية, and wind energy) لأعمال الصيد الأخضر: في حين تناقص تحسين الأداء الآثار البيئية. علاوة على ذلك, it improves water efficiency by innovating in the production of ice from sea water instead of fresh water, وهو أمر حاسم في المناطق القاحلة مثل فويرتفينتورا.
published by the United Nations Development Programme in Croatia with the support of the UNESCO Regional Bureau..
© Fuertventura BR. Local authorities and UNESCO
representatives visiting the desalination plant.
Photo Gallery, especially in presence of some tourist development. Through Africagua, a RENFORUS-associated forum, the Fuerteventura model attempts to replicate on other islands such as Principe, Cape Verde, or in the African coast of Mauritania.
