The Cabildo of Lanzarote and La Graciosa has developed a new proposal for Renewable Acceleration Zones that limits the area to less than 200 hectares, compared to the initial more than 3,100. The institution is now starting a round of meetings with the seven municipalities of the island.
The Cabildo of Lanzarote and La Graciosa has taken a decisive step to unlock the renewable energy map on the island. After months of controversy and the withdrawal of the initial plans promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands, the island corporation has concluded the technical phase of its own proposal for Renewable Acceleration Zones (ZAR). The new document drastically reduces the affected area: from the initial more than 3,100 hectares to less than 200, which represents only 0.25% of the island's territory.
The president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, has announced that the institution will now begin a round of meetings with the seven municipalities of Lanzarote to gather their contributions before submitting the final proposal to the regional government. “We want the energy transition to be made from consensus, with planning and respecting the uniqueness of our island,” stated Betancort, who insisted that the new model should concentrate installations in spaces where they generate the least possible impact and that benefit the citizens.
The Energy Councillor, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, detailed that the Cabildo's proposal prioritises public lands, building rooftops, parking lots, and already transformed infrastructures. Among the specific actions is a photovoltaic park in the vicinity of the Tahíche prison, whose production will be mainly allocated to the integral water cycle, aiming to advance towards greater energy self-sufficiency.
The preparation of this document is part of a new phase opened after the Government of the Canary Islands withdrew the initial mapping of the ZAR. That delimitation, which anticipated the implementation of renewable installations over more than 3,100 hectares, provoked widespread institutional and social rejection in Lanzarote, leading to a review process to redefine the areas with criteria of greater territorial and environmental protection.
The Cabildo defends that the new model must reconcile the development of renewable energies with the protection of the landscape, agricultural activity, and the environmental values that characterise Lanzarote and La Graciosa. The reduction of the occupied area is one of the main innovations, as it decreases from more than 3,100 hectares to less than 200, a reduction of approximately 94%.
With the round of meetings with the municipalities, the Cabildo faces the final phase of a process that seeks to close a new agreed map. Once the municipal contributions are collected, the proposal will be submitted to the Government of the Canary Islands for final approval. The goal is for the new ZAR model to emerge from an agreement between administrations and avoid the confrontation experienced in the first phase.
For the residents of Lanzarote, the reduction of the ZAR means less impact on the landscape and territory, although the Cabildo warns that the renewable deployment is necessary to advance in the energy transition. The focus on already transformed spaces, such as rooftops and parking lots, aims to minimise visual and environmental impact while generating social returns, as in the case of the Tahíche photovoltaic park, which will contribute to the self-sufficiency of the water cycle.
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