The Canary Islands Government has decided that the deep geothermal drilling operations on La Palma are not subject to a simplified environmental assessment. Energía Geotérmica de La Palma can therefore go ahead with the «Sondeo isla de La Palma» project, but must comply with the specified environmental and conservation requirements.
Following a public tender process, the company had been awarded the exploration rights for high-enthalpy geothermal resources on La Palma. On 4 February, it submitted a request to have the project excluded from the simplified procedure. The decision can be found in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands.
LP3, LP4 and LP5 are situated on the boundaries of Natura 2000 sites. Once the work has been completed, the company must restore the land used and remove all plant, waste and materials. During dismantling, machinery and vehicles must not exceed a speed of 30 kilometres per hour on access roads and work areas. Two further resolutions concern a solar park in San Bartolomé de Tirajana on Gran Canaria and free digital courses for people aged 60 and over:
Gran Canaria: Solar farm in San Bartolomé de Tirajana approved
The «Lomo Gordo 4» solar farm, with a capacity of two MW, has been granted permission to be built in San Bartolomé de Tirajana on Gran Canaria. The application for the project was submitted by Tinojai Renovables. The Canary Islands Government approved the plant, even though it is not compatible with the island’s spatial planning. This is evident from the decision on the solar park in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands.
Plans for the 164,015-square-metre site in La Data include a total of 4,266 solar panels, eight inverters and a 1,907-metre-long medium-voltage power line. As soon as the first significant change is proposed, the relevant planning authorities must amend the spatial and urban planning regulations. According to its decision of March 2025, the Environmental Assessment Commission waived the requirement for an environmental impact statement because the project does not exceed the statutory thresholds.
Canary Islands: Free digital courses for people aged 60 and over
Since 8 October, people aged 60 and over have been able to attend courses, workshops and events on digital literacy free of charge in the Canary Islands. This has been made possible by an agreement between the Canary Islands‘ Ministry of Social Affairs and the Cibervoluntarios Foundation. The agreement runs for two years and ends on 8 October 2028. Further details are set out in the agreement with Cibervoluntarios in the Official Gazette.
The Ministry provides information about the programmes through its official channels, makes accessible premises available and supports their implementation. Cibervoluntarios is responsible for training and provides learning materials and tools. The foundation must submit a data protection statement within one month. Any changes to staff must be reported within seven calendar days.
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