Blackout-proofing measures at Tenerife Port
The Fishing Docks at the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has become the focal point for emergency solutions aimed at addressing the island’s energy vulnerability. Resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Port Authority, signed by its chair, López de Vergara, formalise the green light for the installation of discontinuous emergency power following the formal declaration of an energy emergency in the archipelago. The agreements also confirm both the allocation of land for the new plant granted to Sampol I. and O. Canarias, S.L. and the infrastructural upgrading by Red Eléctrica de España needed to evacuate that power into the general grid.
Sampol concession for emergency generation equipment
The key strategic decision by the port authority is granting an administrative concession to Sampol to occupy 6,230.85 square metres in plot SCDP071 within the Fishing Docks. The project includes the deployment of emergency and discontinuous power generation equipment designed to act as a safety buffer against demand spikes or critical failures in the island system. The installation also involves laying the connection lines to the substation at the East Breakwater. The concession term has been set at six years, with a total annual fee of 99,056.28 euros, split equally between the occupancy fee and the activity fee.
Red Eléctrica expands its substation
In parallel and as a complement, the Port Authority has approved the substantial modification of Red Eléctrica de España’s concession on plot number 12 within the same port area. To host and distribute electricity from the new emergency groups, the company has increased the built area of its step-down substation by 11.18%, bringing total occupancy to 570.84 square metres. This technical upgrade is described as essential to interconnect the new generation modules with the island’s transport grid under the operational assurance standards required.
Temporary actions to tackle Tenerife’s capacity deficit
The deployment within the port area is directly tied to the package of temporary and extraordinary actions activated to mitigate the firm capacity shortfall in Tenerife and prevent future electrical blackouts. With this move, the Tenerife port consolidates its role as a critical infrastructure node by making use of industrial land in the Fishing Docks due to its strategic proximity to evacuation networks. The six-year time horizon granted to Sampol provides the necessary window to keep these backup generator sets operational while the island’s definitive generation infrastructure is processed and implemented.
The entry Blackout-proofing in Tenerife: Ports authorise Sampol emergency plant and Red Eléctrica works was published first on canarymaritime.com.
