The president of Red Eléctrica de España, Beatriz Corredor, maintains special monitoring of the Chira Soria project that was promoted by her predecessor Luis Atienza at the time. The Salto de Chira reversible pumped hydroelectric plant (CHB) began construction in Gran Canaria after the Covid19 pandemic. This is the first large massive energy storage project in the Canary Islands for the operation of the electrical system, providing greater security of supply and increasing the integration of renewable energies.
Corredor, in his speech at the Redeia shareholders meeting, said in the chapter on REE projects outside the planning that "the construction of the Salto de Chira reversible pumping hydroelectric plant in Gran Canaria is progressing at a good pace, as it is an essential and urgent element for the guarantee of supply and the integration of renewables in the Canary Islands system".
Already when he was in Las Palmas at the beginning of the works he said that Red Eléctrica would put Salto de Chira into service in compliance with the legal mandate that in 2013 gave the system operator the responsibility of these pumping facilities in the non-peninsular systems that "will be an instrument at the service of Gran Canaria society and a storage tool for everyone and for everyone." The project is financed with funds from the European Central Bank.
Storage is going to be one of the key pieces of the energy transition, both for its contribution to electrification and for its capacity to provide renewable energies with manageability, something especially important in non-interconnected systems such as islands. It is at that point where the Salto Chira between San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Mogán "will represent a great advance, improving the guarantee of supply, the security of the electrical system and renewable penetration."
