The president of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, will accompany the President of the Canary Islands Government, Fernando Clavijo, and the General Director of Energy of the European Commission, Dominique Ristori, in the inauguration of the II Forum of Clean Energies for the Islands of the EU, which will take place this Monday, November 5, at 9.30 in Jameos del Agua. The event is co-organized by the European Commission and the Government of the Canary Islands, which will be attended by a hundred EU officials and experts related to the political, technological, energy, business, academic and social spheres, among others. Together with them, the Minister of Energy and Water Management of Malta, Joe Mizzi, as well as other representatives of the European Parliament will also participate in the table.

 

The Forum, whose first edition was held last year in Crete, aims to respond to the challenges and challenges that insular territories have to face , due to their geographical situation and climate, and to pool the necessary instruments to accelerate the transition energy in the more than 2,700 islands that exist in Europe.

 

In this sense, it is a unique opportunity to learn about innovative projects and examples of good energy practices that are being implemented in different island environments.

 

The choice of the Canary Islands to celebrate this second edition is the result of the firm commitment that the Archipelago has made in recent years to advance in the development of a sustainable energy model, based on the implementation of renewable energy and energy saving and efficiency measures .

 

In this context, and as reported by the Cabildo in a press release, the II Forum includes a session devoted specifically to the outermost regions (RUP), in which the Canary Islands will be able to exhibit some of the pioneering projects that demonstrate their potential as a natural laboratory of sustainable energy technologies and circular economy models, such as the Gorona del Viento hydroelectric plant in El Hierro and the first marine wind turbine in Spain, located on the coasts of Gran Canaria.

 

In addition, during the Forum will be informed of the work done by the RUP Energy Network, led by the Canary Islands in 2016, to seek new lines of financing and launch joint actions with the rest of the outermost territories to take advantage of the potential they offer for the implantation of clean energies.

 

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Throughout the day other authorities of the insular territories will intervene, including the Minister of Economy, Industry, Trade and Knowledge of the Regional Executive, Pedro Ortega and the President of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, as well as various representatives of the Directorate General of Energy of the European Commission and the Secretariat for the Clean Energy Initiative for the Islands, constituted a year ago by the Community Executive to facilitate energy self-sufficiency of the islands and the exchange of information and technology related to the promotion of renewable.

 

A day before the Forum, Fernando Clavijo and Pedro Ortega will visit Agustín de la Hoz, in Arrecife, the exhibition ‘Solar Portraits’ by photographer Rubén Salgado, a show that reveals how electricity from the Sun has changed the life of numerous people in remote areas of Burma, India and Uganda.

 

Subsequently, on Tuesday, November 6, participants in the Forum will visit the wind facilities that are in operation in Lanzarote and that allow covering the energy consumption involved in the water desalination process.

 

The 2nd Clean Energies Forum for the EU islands is the result of the Political declaration on clean energy for the islands of the EU, signed in 2017 by the European Commission together with 14 Member States, including Spain, with the purpose of accelerating the energy transition in the more than 2700 islands that exist in Europe, help the islands to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by making better use of their own renewable energy sources and advance in the adoption of more modern and innovative energy systems.