ITER HAS BEEN LEADING THE DEVELOPMENT OF WIND ENERGY IN THE CANARY ISLANDS SINCE 1991.

The first wind turbine installed in Spain by the company ENERCON was installed in ITER.

ITER’s Wind Department accompanied ENERCON yesterday as the company celebrated reaching 1 GW of installed wind power in Spain. During this event, it was highlighted that the first wind turbine installed in Spain was their E-32 model, installed at ITER through the efforts of Enercon’s founder, Aloys Wobben, and their engineer Hans-Jochen Arndt. The installation of this wind turbine was one of the first commitments of ITER’s manager and founder, Mr. Manuel Cendagorta-Galarza, to install renewable energies in Tenerife. Since then, ITER has installed 68.3 MW, 62 of them with wind turbines from this German company.

Between 1990 and 1993, the Experimental Platform of 2.83 MW was installed, financed in collaboration with various organizations (ITER, Tenerife Island Council, Government of the Canary Islands, UNELCO, and the European Union). The main objective of this platform was to study the operation of different types of wind turbines, considering power, manufacturing, origin, and technology, to establish guidelines on the suitability of the technology to be installed in the Canary Islands.

In 1996, the 4.8 MW Wind Park was installed by the Economic Interest Group “EÓLICAS DE TENERIFE,” currently equally owned by ITER and ENEL Green Power. Initially, it consisted of 16 MADE AE-30 wind turbines, each with a nominal power of 300 kW, which were replaced in 1999 by 8 MADE AE-46 wind turbines, each with a nominal power of 600 kW.

In 1998, with a self-financed project by ITER, the 5.5 MW Wind Park was installed, consisting of 11 ENERCON E-40 wind turbines with a nominal power of 500 kW each.

In 2018, the installation and commissioning of three new wind parks on the island of Tenerife were completed: the Areté and La Roca Wind Parks in the Granadilla Industrial Estate, with 18.4 MW and 16.7 MW respectively, and the Wind Park of the Arico Environmental Complex, with 18.4 MW of power. ITER was the promoting entity of these installations at the time of their installation and currently.

The Areté Wind Park is composed of five ENERCON E-92 model wind turbines with 2,350 kW of nominal power each, and two ENERCON E82 E4 wind turbines with 3,020 kW of nominal power each, making the total power of the park 17,790 kW. On the other hand, the La Roca Wind Park consists of three ENERCON E-92 model wind turbines with 2,350 kW of nominal power each, and four ENERCON E82 E4 wind turbines with 3,020 kW of nominal power each, with the total power of this park being 19,130 kW.

The Wind Farm Park of the Arico Environmental Complex is composed of eight ENERCON E-92 model wind turbines with 2,350 kW of nominal power each.

Currently, ITER is working on the repowering of its three oldest wind parks, replacing the existing wind turbines with ENERCON E-82 turbines with 2.35 MW of individual power: on the experimental platform, the 9 wind turbines will be replaced by 1 E-, the 8 wind turbines in the 4.8 MW wind farm will be replaced by 2 E-82 turbines, and the 11 turbines in the 5.5 MW wind farm will be replaced by two E-82 turbines.