By: Darias, Laura De Iturrate, María García, Leticia González, Yolanda Mª Hernández, Marlene Mendoza,

1. Wind energy in Tenerife (Canary Islands) By: Darias, Laura De Iturrate, María García, Leticia González, Yolanda Mª Hernández, Marlene Mendoza, Alejandra “Parral de otoño”, representing the image of the surrealist painter Óscar Domínguez IES TACORONTE-ÓSCAR DOMÍNGUEZ

2. The Canary Islandsand the west African coast

3. IES TACORONTE – ÓSCAR DOMÍNGUEZ

4. Introduction We extract essential resources from the environment and have the obligation to preserve and exploit it in a sustainable manner. In order to progress we produce, process and consume energy in various forms. Most are obtained from burning fossil fuels which produce large quantities of carbon dioxide, one of the most aggressive gases for our atmosphere.

5. Global warming A major problem that our planet faces is the global warming of the earth, because of the greenhouse gases. We must search for new forms of alternative energy production: clean and renewable energies that do not contaminate. Among others we have the solar energy, a vital source for many of the natural phenomena and an essential part of the ecological cycle for life on earth.

6. Renewable sources of energy are: • The sun: solar energy. • The wind: wind energy. • Rivers and freshwater streams: hydropower. • Seas and oceans: tidal power. • Heat of The Earth: geothermal energy. • Waves: tidal power.

7. Solar energy: The solar energy is the main source of energy on Earth: • The Sun is responsible for the formation of the winds, where we obtain the wind energy from. • It produces the evaporation of water. With the precipitations the water comes back to the surface and fill reservoirs, where hydropower will be extracted from. • It is indispensable for the plants to perform the photosynthesis and be used as biomass. • It plays a vital role in the formation of waves, tides and in the warming of sea water.

8. ITERTECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGIES The ITER is in Granadilla, on the South coast of Tenerife. • The objectives of ITER are: • Systems Development for the use of renewable energy. • Project Coordination of R&D in energy made in the Canary Islands. • Creation of infrastructure for the development of the engineering, local industry and investigation in other areas. • The export of know-how to other countries and archipelagos. • Promoting relations with the scientific community. • Scientific and technical training of staff in renewable energies.

9. Its latest project is a new photovoltaic park, which will reduce air pollution and represent a reduction of over 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide, in addition to providing power to nearly 5,000 homes. The Canary Islands have the ideal conditions for the exploitation of this kind of energy: Subtropical climate, many hours of sun and the winds.

10. The wind as a source of energy The wind occurs when there is a temperature difference between the air of one region and another. Because of its lower density, the hotter air mass rises, leaving a space that is occupied by the mass of cold air. The wind is the result of the displacement of cold air. The wind speed is determined by the amount of kinetic energy of the air mass; more speed, more kinetic energy the wind has.

11. Since the 90s this type of energy has been developed demonstrating its viability in economical terms and reaffirmed as energy for the future. The wind energy is currently the renewable energy with higher growth and it already represents a large part of the electricity production.

12. The kinetic energy of the wind is transformed into electrical energy through the wind turbines. The wind turbine is a mechanical system of rotation provided with blades that with the kinetic energy of the winds moves a generator connected to the driving system. There are two different models of wind turbines depending on the location of the generator. The system of operation is the same for both types.

13. Types of wind turbines Horizontal axis turbine The rotor is attached to a support where the generator is situated, both on a tower that can be of metal or concrete. Vertical axis turbine The generator is located at the base of the tower. Easier to maintain but the performance is lower.

14. Location of wind farms The best location is near the coast, where constant moderate winds blow regularly. A wind speed of more than 30 Km. /H is needed for the operation of the installation.

15. Types of wind installations There are two types: Isolated These are not connected to the electricity network. They are small-scale facilities for a small scale use.

16. Wind farms Formed by a set of wind turbines that are connected to the electricity network. They are facilities of large dimensions located in places where the wind speed is adequate. They allow to obtain at least 1 Megawatt of power.

17. The advantages of wind energy: • Clean • Renewable • Slows down the depletion of fossil fuels • Cheap • Optimum exploitation of natural resources • Profitable • Each Kwh. of electricity generated by wind energy instead of coal avoids: • 1.33 Grams of SO2, sulfur dioxide. • 0.60 Kg of CO2, carbon dioxide • 1.67 Grams of NOx, rust of nitrogen.

18. Disadvantages of wind energy: • Big and expensive machinery is needed. • It deteriorates the landscape because of the visual impact. • The noise. • Mortality of birds caused by impact against the blades.

19. The Canary Islands Location: Atlantic Ocean, between the 27º-37' and 29º-25' north latitude and 13º-20' and 18º-10' west longitude. 100km NW of Africa, 1,150km SW of the Iberian Peninsula Population: around 2 million Area: 7,492 square kilometres

20. Climate • The subtropical climate is characterized by mild temperatures and scarce and irregular precipitations. • Other factors that affect the climate are: • Latitude • Irregular relief • Cold oceanic current • Proximity to Africa • Trade winds

21. The wind power in the Canary Islands The Canary Islands want to commit seriously to the renewable energies, looking for clean and ecological energy, and total autonomy of supply. There has been a great progress in the production of wind farms in recent years. The Canary Islands have a great advantage because of the influence of the trade winds. The trade winds are constant winds of NE direction, humid because of the marine influence. The trade winds are stronger in the summer than in the winter.

22. The speed of these winds range between 6 and 25 Km/H. There are 15 wind farms on the islands, and in the first six months of 2008 they produced 90,119 megawatt hours. The total power reaches 59.6 megawatts. There are 5 wind farms in Gran Canaria, 5 in Tenerife, 2 in La Palma and 1 in Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Gomera.

23. The most powerful wind farms in the Canary Islands Finca Mogán (Tenerife) producing 16.5 megawatts of power. Cañada de la Barca (Fuerteventura) producing 10.2 megawatts of power. Los Valles (Lanzarote) with 7.2 megawatts.

24. Wind farms in Tenerife There are five active wind farms in Tenerife. The ITER has three installed in the industrial park of Granadilla: the 2.83 MW Pilot Platform, the 4.8 MW wind farm, and the 5.5 MW wind farm. The others are the Finca de Mogán wind farm and Punta Teno wind farm. The energy produced is sold to the local power company UNELCO, responsible for the distribution in the island.

25. The 2.83 pilot platform The 2.83 MW Pilot Platform was financed by various institutions. Its main objective has been the study of the functioning of different types of wind turbines. The total nominal power of this platform is 2.83 MW and it is formed by 9 different turbines, powers varying between 150 and 500 Kw. The technology used is different for each of them. Also, there are differences in diameter and height.

26. The 4.8 MW Wind Farm Installed in 1996. Initially there were 16 MADE AE-30 wind turbines, with 300 Kw. of nominal power each, with a total capacity of 4.8 MW and an energetic production of 11 GW. In 1999, this wind farm was modified in order to reduce noise and increase productivity. The original turbines were changed for 8 MADE AE-46 wind turbines of 600KW of power each and an annual production of 14KWh.

27. The 5.5 MW Wind Farm The 5.5 MW wind farm is a self financed project for ITER installed in 1998, with11 ENERCON E-40 wind turbines of 500 Kw. of nominal power each. Estimated annual energy production is 16.5 GWh.

28. Finca de Mogán wind farm • It is a unique initiative because it combines the production of electricity with other actions for the promotion of renewable energy, environmental awareness and the development of the southern town of Arico. It has: • 53 wind turbines • A nature classroom to teach about clean and renewable energy. • A training restaurant built according to bioclimatic criteria that will provide jobs for the locals.

29. Punta Teno wind farm Located in Buenavista del Norte. With an investment of more than 2.5 million euros this new wind installation has an installed capacity of 1,800 Kw., distributed in 6 wind turbines of 300 kw each. The estimated annual production of electricity is of 6,480 MWh.

30. Present and future of alternative energy sources in the Canary Islands. The energy demand is growing as a result of the increase in population and economical growth. Today, renewable energy sources only cover a 5 % of our demand for energy. The energy strategy to follow is to have a system of renewable energies, specifically wind farms and photovoltaic installations, whose exploitation will contribute to a sustainable development.

31. The increase in the contribution of renewable energy sources will help the Canary Islands reach the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol. The target is to reach 12% of gross domestic consumption of energy from renewable energy sources by 2010 New ideas are developing: In the island of El Hierro, there is a project in process that consists in the construction of a new energy supply system combining two sources of generation: the hydro electrical energy and wind energy.

32. Conclusions For centuries man has used wind energy. Now we use modern version of the former windmills, present in the novel about Don Quixote de la Mancha. In the past, the windmills in the Canary Islands were used to make “gofio”.Today’s windmills turn the force of the wind into electric power by means of the coupling of a dynamo that generates the wind energy.

33. It has some disadvantages: noise, alteration of the landscape and mortality of birds. But the advantages are much more important: Wind energy is clean, cheap and it is renewable. It does not contaminate or damage the ozone layer. The Canary Islands present a high wind potential, because of the presence of the trade winds, with constant parameters in speed and in direction during the year. To commit with new projects in the use of the alternative energies is in the hope that a better and sustainable future exists.

34. FIRST EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT GUIMARAES 17 APRIL 2009