UNELCO is part of the ENDESA Group, the leading electricity company in Spain and the second-largest operator in the Portuguese electricity market. The group operates in the generation, distribution, and sale of electricity, as well as in the natural gas sector. UNELCO and its parent group have ambitious goals regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This commitment, aligned with the 2016 Paris Agreement and reflected in ENDESA’s 2017–2019 Strategic Plan, has been further reinforced in the 2022–2024 Strategic Plan. Within this framework, the company has launched initiatives to strengthen its response to the threat of climate change through emissions reduction. One such initiative is the collaboration agreement signed on May 29, 2021, between UNELCO and ITC for the development of a microalgae plant at the Barranco de Tirajana Thermal Power Station, located in the southeast of Gran Canaria and operated by UNELCO. The plant, under construction and scheduled for completion in early 2024, will occupy a 90 m² space temporarily provided by UNELCO to ITC to enable the implementation of joint actions. This pilot project aims to explore the possibility of using combustion gases from the plant as nutrients for microalgae, turning a waste product into a valuable resource for the development of plant-based aquaculture.
UNELCO in ACUICONECTA: UNELCO’s participation in ACUICONECTA will clearly contribute to the achievement of the project’s objectives, particularly those outlined in Activity 2.1: “Strategies to increase the resilience and sustainability of aquaculture processes.” This will include the execution of a trial using combustion gases for microalgae cultivation. This initiative builds on previous investment projects such as BLUEACT (implemented by ITC and funded by REACT-EU under the “Next Generation” recovery instrument), and consolidates prior research outcomes from projects such as THINKINAZUL, REBECA, and REBECA-CCT, as well as A4HW. The aim is to reach a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6, demonstrating the technology in relevant industrial environments. The results of these trials have the potential to pave the way for larger-scale CO₂ utilization projects in an area of over 200 hectares suitable for plant-based aquaculture development. They also offer a replicable and transferable model to other Macaronesian regions. Studying the use of combustion gas CO₂ for algae cultivation under real operational conditions is particularly relevant in the Atlantic archipelagos, where this inorganic carbon source—essential for large-scale cultures—can represent up to 20% of total production costs.
Go to the website of Unión Eléctrica de Canarias Generación