Increasing energy production through renewable sources is a challenge for islands. This paper investigates the potential of hydropower as a renewable energy source for islands in the Macaronesia region, which includes the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde. Ecological transition towards renewable energy sources is crucial for these islands due to their current dependence on imported fossil fuels and their remoteness. The methodology used in this paper combines a SWOT analysis with a review of relevant literature. The SWOT analysis evaluates the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats associated with hydropower development on each island. The results show that each island has unique characteristics that influence its hydropower potential. The Azores has existing mini-hydropower plants and opportunities for pumped storage systems due to its rainfall and volcanic features. Madeira also utilizes hydropower, including the world's first underground pumped storage plant (UPHS) in Socorridos. However, limitations exist due to the mountainous terrain and competition for water resources. The Canary Islands showcase the success story of El Hierro Island, which significantly increased renewable energy penetration through a wind farm and pumped storage hydropower system. The topography and lack of rainfall on Cape Verde make the development of hydropower a significant challenge and, as a result, the focus has shifted to wind power. The study concludes that hydropower can play a significant role in the ecological transition of these islands. However, careful planning and consideration of environmental factors are necessary to maximize the benefits and minimize the potential drawbacks. The paper emphasizes the importance of island-specific assessments and exploring opportunities for pumped storage systems. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2024-010-07-019 Full Text: PDF

The municipal waste management is becoming increasingly important in regional policies. While, on one hand there are currently high rates of recycling, it is also true that waste production grows exponentially. Waste management is a difficult task, but in the case of island territories is very complex, being isolated and limited territories. Also the need to establish a plan for restoration of degraded areas, as landfills must be considered. Given the continuous increase in the amount of waste managed, waste is one of the biggest problems facing environmental management in the Canaries. In small and limited spaces such as islands, even taking into account the increased capacity of waste recovery is where it has the greatest sense premise that “the best waste is not produced”. The Canary Islands lie with the challenge of developing a management model that solves the collection and treatment of new waste streams according to the EU, national and regional legislation. It has to be taken into account its character as an island with an important tourist population, which, although not considered legal population, is generating waste

Rockfalls are frequent and damaging phenomena that occur on steep or vertical slopes, in coastal areas, mountains and along coastal cliff. Water, in different forms, is the most common triggered factor of rockfalls. Consequently, we can consider that precipitation is the most influential factor for slope instabilities and it influences almost all other water parameters. Besides, the specific geology of the Anaga nature reserve in the volcanic island of Tenerife, together with its steep landscape, contributes to the instability of the slopes and frequent rockfalls. Recently, due to climate change and global warming, the annual precipitation/rainfall has declined but the number of heavy storms, associated with intense rainfall and strong winds, events that exceed precipitation thresholds in a brief period has increased which triggers slope movements. This paper describes the analysis of information on rainfall-induced rockfalls in Anaga, Tenerife (Canary Islands), to forecast rock failures of social significance and to improve the capability to respond and emergency decision making. To define reliable thresholds for a certain area, we analized information during the period 2010–2016, reconstructed the rockfall events, and statistically analyzed the historical rainfall conditions that led to landslides. The summary graph correlating precipitation to the probability of occurrence of an event was plotted. Statistical and probability graphs were made with the direct relationship between the number of rockfall events and total rainfall in that period by examining the maximum daily precipitation, not only on the day of the event but up to 3 days before. Hence, the results of this study would serve as a guide for the possible forecasting of rainfall-induced rockfalls, especially for road maintenance services, so that they can be on alert or mobilize the necessary resources in advance depending on the intensity of the expected rainfall.

The water consumption of hotels varies greatly from one to another and can depend on many factors such as category, country, climate, size, hotel facilities (spas, swimming pools, gardens, kitchens, laundry, etc.), occupation, and so forth. Five-star hotels are responsible for large amounts of water consumption in the hotel industry, and this has an impact on water consumption in the Canary Islands. This study shows the evolution of water consumption for the period 2014–2019 in a five-star luxury hotel in Tenerife. Results show an average water consumption of 700 litres per guest and night, with minimums around 600 and maximums over 1000. The hotel has its own desalination plant and introduced water saving measures progressively over the last few years, achieving a very significant reduction in water consumption and energy costs. Water improvements improve the energy efficiency of the building, as well as having a positive impact on customers’ opinions.

Insularity presents several challenges in the development of Europe’s outermost regions. In the case of the Canary Islands, one of these challenges is waste management, which faces a series of difficulties inherent to territorial disparities, including land use and availability, a high percentage of protection, a large number of annual tourists and a high level of product imports. The archipelago is made up of eight islands, and waste management is significantly different in the two capitals, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, and the rest of the smaller islands. European targets for adequate waste management have not been achieved in those areas. As an example, only 16% of the collected waste is recycled currently, mainly due to a lack of infrastructure and a lack of agility on the part of the corresponding institutions. There is also pressure exerted on this sector by tourism, which accounts for approximately 40% of employment in two of the islands. As a general conclusion, valorized waste management is proposed, where the use of by-products, such as biogas or compost is implemented in sectors where they can be used, i.e., as electricity, potentially of 19 GWh/year, and agricultural supply, thus promoting recycling and the circular economy in the Canary Islands.