Antonio Morales, President of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, has announced that exploratory drilling for geothermal resources is expected to started in the island after the summer of 2026. To this end, the process of drafting the tender documents is now ongoing with support from consulting firm JRG Energy.
The first exploratory drilling will be carried out in the Telde region, targeting a depth of 2600 to 2700 meters. The identified drilling site has been described as having the necessary access roads and water supply for the drilling operations. The cost of drilling the first well is estimated to be EUR 30 million, half of which will be funded by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) under a previously announced funding programme for deep geothermal projects in Spain.
Geothermal development in Gran Canaria is being headed by Gran Canaria Geotermia SL, a public-private consortium between the Gran Canaria Energy Council, British company Dando Drilling Group, Ayaguares Medio Ambiente, and Caray Island Base. The company holds the exploration permit for a 36-square kilometer parcel of land located between Ingenio, Agüimes, Telde, and Valsequillo, comprising 182 mining grids.
Application for new sites
The Gran Canaria Energy Council has filed a request for a new research permit for an area covering 220 mining grids across the Ingenio, Agüimes, Santa Lucía de Tirajana and San Bartolomé de Tirajana. The new research area is notably contiguous with the current licensed area under Gran Canaria Geotermia.
The application for the new permit comes after the company’s findings of potential geothermal resource within the proposed license area. The discovery of thermal anomalies in this region is a result of the collaboration of Gran Canaria Geotermia with the Spanish Geographic and Mining Institute (IGME). This is also seen as a preemptive measure to protect the company’s interests should any high-temperature geothermal resource be confirmed in Telde.
Source: Canarias 7 and Canaria Journalen
