Tag: solar

Latest Gran Canaria News, Views & Sunshine

Centre-Right Pact Between Regionalists (CC) And Resident Conservatives (PPAV) Returns Marco Aurelio Perez As Southern Mayor

The conservative Partido Popular-Agrupación de Vecinos (PP-AV) and the right of centre regionalist Coalición Canaria (CC) have this Thursday signed a local government pact that will shape the future of the southern Gran Canaria tourism municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana. The alliance, dubbed a “Pact for Stability and Socioeconomic Progress of San Bartolomé Tirajana”, represents 60% of the votes cast in the municipality’s recent local elections, emphasised the  mayor-elect, Marco Aurelio Pérez (PP-AV), who returns for the third time to lead the local council responsible for some of the most important tourism areas on the island, including Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés and San Agustín.

 
 

 

Local Government Coalition Agreement Maspalomas and the South of Gran Canaria

A governing coalition pact has been finalised in San Bartolomé de Tirajana. The Popular Party–Agrupación de Vecinos (PP-AV) conservative residents party is to join forces with regionalist centre-right Coalición Canaria (CC) to govern the main tourist municipality on Gran Canaria for the next four years. Marco Aurelio Pérez will serve as mayor for the entire four-year term, and the Popular Party will take charge of Employment, Sports, Roads and Infrastructure, and Human Resources, among other areas. The regionalists, led by Alejandro Marichal, will oversee Urban Planning, Economy and Finance, and Tourism as their main departments.

 
 

 

Storm Óscar Latest: Government of the Canary Islands Declares Rain Alert for Western Islands and Gran Canaria

A storm system, dubbed Óscar, has formed over the last few days over the mid-north Atlantic, unusual for this time of year, and has led to concern from meteorologists and journalists as it passes south of the Azores, its tail should reach The Canary Islands, before the system heads northeast towards mainland Spain.  Advisory warnings have been issued in expectation of heavy rainfall, primarily in the Western Isles of the Canary Islands Archipelago, though some rainfall is also expected to reach Gran Canaria over the next couple of days.  It seems unlikely that any major consequences will stem from the bad weather, however these things can be unpredictable and so every precaution is taken to ensure people are informed and kept safe.

 
 

 

Foundation Investigated for Alleged Mismanagement of Public Funds Meant for Care of Unaccompanied Migrant Minors

The 7th Investigative Court of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has opened a preliminary investigation into the Social Response Foundation Siglo XXI and four of its directors. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office in Las Palmas filed a complaint against them, alleging crimes that could include forgery of commercial documents, mismanagement, and embezzlement of public funds. The investigation aims to determine whether this nonprofit organisation, and its officials, could have misused public funds intended for the care of unaccompanied migrant minors, during the migration crisis of 2020 that was precipitated by the pandemic confinement on the islands, leading to a build up of arrivals having to be assessed and cared for by the Canary Islands Regional Government, using hotels left empty due to the lack of tourism. The estimated amount involved in the alleged misuse stands at around €12.5 million between 2020 and 2022 on Gran Canaria alone.

 
 

 

Canary Islands Expect Rain and Potential Storm Weather Next Week

The Canary Islands are preparing for a change in the weather next week, as a significant increase in cloud is expected bringing higher probability of rain. The effects of a powerful storm forming in the Atlantic Ocean are likely to extend to the Canary Islands as well as neighbouring Madeira and The Azores.

 
 

 

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Welcome to the Future: Gran Canaria announce grants for solar panels

The Cabildo de Gran Canaria will agree subsidies for the first time for the installation of photovoltaic panels on homes and industrial buildings, according to the Minister of Energy, Raúl García Brink, during a conference he recently gave as part of the III Jornadas sobre Cooperación y Desarrollo de la Real Sociedad Económica Amigos del País de Gran Canaria. 
With amounts ranging up to €200,000 the project is part of the measures adopted by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria to promote the penetration of renewable energy for self-consumption, added the counsellor, who noted that the call will be published most likely in May and that the Cabildo will inform the population of the regulations and requirements to benefit from this “push” for individuals to install solar panels.
The objective “is to promote self-consumption (auto-consumo) at a particular level and photovoltaics is a great opportunity because here we have enormous possibilities and the development we have is still small,” said the counsellor.
The counsellor, at the conference ‘The Cabildo de Gran Canaria facing the challenges of the XXI’, recalled that the island institution approved the Strategic Plan of Grants for the realisation of studies of energy efficiency in November and encourage the use of alternative energy for individuals and companies along with other actions aimed at minimising the impact of climate change and achieving maximum energy sovereignty through renewable energies.
The great transformations, he said, arise with the sum of other smaller ones, from the institutions, but also from each home. In addition, the Cabildo launched in 2016 the Climate Action Group made up of independent scientists, the two Canarian universities, the ITC (Canarian Institute of Technology) and several environmental organisations with the aim that civil society can work and contributein the definition and development of climate change actions.
The Insular Council of Energy, created in the current mandate, has a budget of more than two million euros this year, and coordinates the pact of Mayors that brings together 15 municipalities on the island that are involved in the development of plans of action for climate and sustainable energy with the help of a dozen engineers trained to do so. It is also in the process of preparing a diagnosis of risks, vulnerabilities and adaptation to climate change in Gran Canaria. The goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent by 2030.

The Cabildo has also signed an agreement with Involcan to analyse the evolution of Gran Canaria’s geothermal potential through field work and to determine the electric power generation system that would be most optimal for the island. More than 3,500 points have already been analysed and before the end of the year there will be conclusions after an investment of half a million euros.
García Brink detailed other actions such as the electric vehicle recharging network in 17 municipalities of the island, in addition to the celebration of the second Movelec Fair in Infecar on 27 and 28 April on this type of car.
The Cabildo also promotes wind farms on land they own, such as the environmental complex of Juan Grande, which will be put out to tender this year for two more megawatts, in addition to another planned in Agüimes. On the other hand, the Infecar car parks will host a photovoltaic plant for self-consumption of 94.5 kWp, in addition to the 36 kilowatts auto-consumo plant that has already gone out to tender for the central park of the insular institution.

The Society for Economic Development is also a participant in the actions to face the new century with the Smart Island programs, including an early detection system for fire points, as well as incident and emergency management, a project monitoring and control water network and water leaks and the third already tendered for intelligent screens for public transport.

Welcome to the future…

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