Canary Islands exclude La Palma's geothermal drilling from environmental assessment

The Government of the Canary Islands has excluded the project titled “La Palma Island Drilling,” involving the execution of geothermal research drilling, from the simplified environmental impact assessment procedure. The Agreement was adopted during the session of the regional Executive held on October 19, 2026, and is now published via Resolution of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Government in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (Boletín Oficial de Canarias) no. 215, dated October 27, 2026 (reference 3703), signed by the general secretary, Ceferino José Marrero Fariña.

The decision was adopted upon the proposal of the Minister of Economy, Industry, Commerce and the Self-Employed and with a prior report from the Preparatory Commission for Government Affairs, under Article 8.3 of Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment, which allows for the exclusion of a specific project “in exceptional cases” through a reasoned agreement. The Agreement itself acknowledges that deep geothermal drilling is listed in Annex II, group 3.a), of said law and that, as they can reach 3,000 meters, they were subject to simplified assessment: the exclusion therefore requires justification of detrimental effects on the purpose of the project.

Twelve mining permits and a single promoter

The file originates from the public tender for geothermal resources in La Palma, resolved by Resolution no. 661/2024, of October 31, which established the selection of bids and the order of priority. The research permits under Section D) of Law 22/1973, of July 21, on Mines, were granted to Energía Geotérmica de La Palma, S.L.U., with NIF B75576728:

• RDGI-1054/2025, of December 30, 2025: five fractions of the “Benahoarita” permit (records 2.076-01 to 2.076-05) in Villa de Mazo, Breña Baja, and Breña Alta.
• RDGI-01/2026 to RDGI-07/2026, of January 2, 2026: permits “Auarita”, “Benahoare”, “Tedote” (two fractions), “Aridane” (two fractions), and “Tijarafe”, with records 2.077 to 2.081, in Fuencaliente, Los Llanos de Aridane, El Paso, Villa de Mazo, and the two Breñas.

On February 4, 2026, the entity requested that a prototype drilling project not be subjected to simplified assessment, accompanied by the technical project signed by mining engineer Elzbieta Skupien Balon and a non-submission report signed by Óscar Sánchez-Morate González Vega and Esther Luis Rosado.

Twelve drillings of up to 3,500 meters in the southeast of the island

The prototype project provides for exploratory drillings to identify the geothermal resources of the subsoil in the southeast of La Palma, without the purpose of exploitation or electricity generation. Its technical parameters are:

• Twelve locations, identified as LP1 to LP12, in UTM REGCAN95 coordinates, zone 28.
• Vertical drillings from 2,500 to 3,000 meters or deviated drillings from 3,000 to 3,500 meters.
• Platforms of approximately 6,500 m² per site, with a maximum radius of 100 meters relative to the preliminary location, reduced to 50 meters in LP3, LP4, and LP5.
• Estimated execution period of one year, with no industrial infrastructure remaining beyond the surface sealing of the boreholes.
• Affected municipal districts: Breña Alta, Villa de Mazo, and El Paso.

Cabildo Constraints and Notice to Brussels

The General Directorate of Environmental Quality warned on May 22, 2026, that locations LP3, LP4, and LP5 are adjacent to Natura 2000 Network spaces and subject to a possible indirect impact according to article 7.2.b) of the state law. The Cabildo Insular de La Palma, through Resolution No. 2026/2719, dated April 8, 2026, concluded that the activities are located outside the Canary Islands Network of Protected Natural Areas and the Natura 2000 Network, and imposed twelve environmental constraints that the Agreement incorporates as an evaluation alternative: prior archaeological prospecting, wetting of work fronts, a 30 km/h speed limit for machinery, noise and waste control, and land restoration with native vegetation.

The Agreement further orders the publication of the decision in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands and on the department’s electronic headquarters, notification to the General Directorate of Environmental Quality and the Cabildo, and tasks the General Directorate of Industry with communicating the exclusion to the European Commission before approving the project.

European Funds and the Vilaflor Precedent

Among the exceptional reasons, the Government invokes the decarbonization of the Canary Islands by 2040, the manageable nature of geothermal energy compared to wind and photovoltaic intermittency, and the financing deadlines: the boreholes are beneficiaries of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (Deep Geothermal program), file PRVIAGEO 2023-000083, and Order TED/1444/2025 extends execution until December 31, 2028, which requires starting the physical phase before the end of 2026. The Executive also relies on the precedent of the authorized boreholes in Vilaflor de Chasna, Tenerife (Official Gazette of the Canary Islands No. 89, May 6, 2025), and on the proposal report from the Mining Service dated June 29, 2026, with reports from the General Directorate of Industry dated June 30 and September 28.

The exclusion clears the administrative path for La Palma to verify whether its subsoil harbors an exploitable geothermal resource, a technology that would provide continuous generation to the island’s electrical system. The actual scope will depend on the results of the boreholes and compliance with the conditions imposed by the Cabildo, which remain mandatory despite the environmental exclusion.

Source: Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, no. 215, October 27, 2026, section III (Other Resolutions), page 38807 (official reference: 3703).