The substations in southern Gran Canaria are on the verge of saturation. The renewable energy craze is colliding with the reality of a limited distribution grid with no immediate reinforcements in sight. The Águeda III photovoltaic plant, promoted by Naturgy Renovables Canarias in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, is not only a symbol of the new solar surge in the archipelago. It is also the tip of the iceberg of a problem that is beginning to emerge with force: southern Gran Canaria no longer has the capacity to pump more renewable electricity into the distribution grid. If urgent measures, both technical and political, are not taken, the archipelago could become a solar powerhouse with a grid-locked grid, a contradiction difficult to explain to Europe and to a citizenry increasingly committed to decarbonization.
According to the latest data published by Endesa e-Distribución Redes Digitales as of May 1, 2025, the Arguineguín hub, which connects a large portion of the solar evacuations in the southwest of the island, only has 13 MW of the 39 available. The 26 MW already occupied reflects significant pressure on an infrastructure that, without reinforcements, will be unable to absorb more solar projects in the short term.
Chain saturation: Maspalomas, Tablero, Matorral... The Arguineguín bottleneck is not an isolated case. The distribution network throughout the southern part of the island is in a critical situation. Other strategic substations are also fully or almost fully occupied: In the south of Gran Canaria, electricity transmission substations are practically fully occupied, with the exception of Arguineguín (Mogán) and Lomo Maspalomas (San Bartolomé de Tirajana), which retain available capacity for new renewable connections. Arguineguín offers 13 MW of a total of 39 MW, while Lomo Maspalomas has 5,6 MW of its total 23,9 MW. These figures position Mogán as the municipality with the greatest scope to accommodate solar energy projects or other facilities requiring grid connection.
In contrast, the El Tablero, San Agustín, and Matorral substations—all in San Bartolomé de Tirajana—are at 100% capacity, with no room for new additions. This saturation significantly limits the development of energy projects in one of the areas with the highest solar radiation in the Canary Islands, unless grid expansions are carried out or existing infrastructure is optimized. The availability in Arguineguín thus takes on special strategic importance for the deployment of renewable energy in the region.
In some cases, such as El Tablero, saturation is complete. In others, such as Lomo Maspalomas, there are barely 5,6 MW available, insufficient for most commercial plants. In the area surrounding Bahía Feliz and San Agustín, the situation is identical: no available capacity, no room for maneuver. The south of Gran Canaria—and especially the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana—is one of the regions with the highest solar radiation in Spain. However, its photovoltaic appeal is compromised by the lack of real capacity to inject new energy into the grid.
The Agueda III plant is the most recent example. Its connection to the Arguineguín hub was possible because it secured capacity reservations in time, but other projects, many promoted by local SMEs or foreign investors, have been forced to halt their development due to the lack of guaranteed access.
The bottleneck in the southern Gran Canaria electricity grid is due to a combination of factors that have coincided over time. On the one hand, the accelerated growth in applications for photovoltaic installations, driven by the calls for proposals opened between 2023 and 2024, has skyrocketed demand for substation capacity. Added to this is the lack of long-term planning by public authorities to strengthen the electrical infrastructure in areas particularly attractive for renewable development. This situation is exacerbated by the absence of energy storage systems that can absorb and modulate generation peaks, which further strains the grid. Furthermore, the heavy dependence on a few strategic hubs, such as Arguineguín, Lomo Maspalomas, and El Tablero, places pressure on infrastructure already close to or even at the limit of its capacity.
Added to this is the low density of substations in the south compared to the metropolitan area. While areas like Buenavista and La Paterna, in Las Palmas, have more than 40 MW of available access, tourist municipalities—where the most power is consumed and where the most potential generation is possible—are trapped.
Given the saturation of substations in southern Gran Canaria, the debate has revived regarding the urgent need to strengthen the electricity grid in this key area for renewable energy development. Alternatives being considered include expanding existing infrastructure, such as the Matorral and El Tablero substations, as well as creating new evacuation hubs closer to future photovoltaic plants. The strategic use of batteries, capable of freeing up capacity during peak hours and alleviating grid congestion, is also gaining momentum. Furthermore, some experts point to a territorial redistribution of generation as a complementary solution, supporting projects in the north of the island or on other islands with less saturated grids, where the integration of renewables still has significant room for growth.
In fact, substations such as Arucas (53,2 MW available) or Corralejo, in Fuerteventura, still have room for new installations. But moving projects there entails logistics costs, equipment transportation, and greater distance from actual demand, which is concentrated in the south. The Canary Islands aim to achieve 60% renewable generation by 2030, but that horizon is complicated if there is no grid to feed clean energy into. The case of Agueda III is good news for the sector, but also a wake-up call.
