Spain’s first deep geothermal probe has reached 3000 meters in the Vilaflor area in southern Tenerife. During the work, high-pressure fractures were found with temperatures of over 100 °C, indicating prospects for using the resource:
- ⚡ for electricity generation
- ♨️ for heat pumps
The project received €14.5 million from the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE) under the Viageo program, financed by Next Generation EU funds of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
The Secretary of State for Energy at the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Joan Groizard, visited the site and highlighted the high potential of the Canary Islands in developing renewable sources. This well has become the deepest geothermal exploration in the archipelago and in all of Spain since the 1970s.
In addition to Vilaflor, on:
- Tenerife
- La Palma
- Gran Canaria
eight more similar projects are being implemented, among the nine recipients of IDAE support.
The work is being carried out by Energía Geotérmica de Tenerife (EGT) — a public-private partnership that includes:
- Cabildo of Tenerife
- the DISA group
- Icelandic Reykjavik Geothermal
Geological studies revealed signs of a hydrothermal reservoir, but the final assessment of its volume and temperature will be completed in the coming months. The islands’ high dependence on fossil fuels and the lack of interconnection with mainland power systems make medium- and high-temperature geothermal energy an important element of decarbonization.
To reduce the financial risks of deep drilling, the Viageo IDAE program allocated more than €100 million from PRTR funds to nine Canary projects. Geothermal energy provides stable 24/7 heat supply and electricity without seasonal fluctuations, which makes it possible to:
- reduce diesel fuel consumption
- improve energy security
As an example, the largest geothermal system in the capital was commissioned in the Miteco building in Madrid, consisting of 106 wells with a total thermal capacity of 1.2 MW, which almost completely replaced diesel heating with support of €4.3 million from the same fund.