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Africa & Middle East / Commercial & demonstration

La Palma Canary Islands Microgrid

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations5
System facts22
Sources reviewed9
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

La Palma's documented STORE project is a fast-response ultracapacitor installation at Endesa's Los Guinchos diesel power station, not a generation microgrid for the whole island. The 4 MW, 20 MW-s system is connected to the isolated island grid at 20 kV and injects power for roughly five to six seconds after a generator trip, buying time for generator governors and reducing under-frequency load shedding. Ingeteam supplied the conversion, control, and integration package under Endesa's STORE research program.

Research status
Installed and demonstrated around 2013–2014. The Canary Islands government published Endesa subsidiary Unión Eléctrica de Canarias Generación's application for definitive authorization of the 4 MW installation in 2019, and Endesa continues to describe the Los Guinchos ultracapacitor as an island-storage reference. No recent public source reports 2025–2026 availability, cycling, or maintenance condition, so present operational performance is not independently confirmed.
Historical classification
Island
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
28.71338, -17.90578
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in La Palma Canary Islands Microgrid?

5 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

Endesa

Lead of the STORE research program and operator group for the Los Guinchos island-grid demonstration [4][5][6]

Organization

Enel Group

Parent company reporting the STORE project [3]

Organization

Government of the Canary Islands

Regional energy authority that processed the 2019 definitive-installation authorization [7]

Organization

Ingeteam

Designer, manufacturer, and integrator of the power-conversion, control, and ultracapacitor system [6]

Organization

Unión Eléctrica de Canarias Generación S.A.U.

Endesa generation subsidiary and applicant for definitive authorization of the permanent Los Guinchos installation [7]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

Ultracapacitor power
4 MW [3]
Ultracapacitor energy
20 MW·s (approximately 5.6 kWh) [3]
Connection point
Los Guinchos power station on La Palma's island system [2]
Peak discharge power
4 MW [6][5][8]
Discharge duration
Ingeteam rates the system for up to 6 seconds; Endesa/Enel and the technical paper describe 20 MW-s, equivalent to 4 MW for 5 seconds. The difference appears to reflect rating versus stated energy, not separate systems [6][5][8]
Stored energy
20 MW-s, approximately 5.56 kWh [5][8]
Ultracapacitor bank
55.55 F at 1,080 Vdc, arranged as eight cabinets with six ultracapacitor units per cabinet [6]
Grid interconnection
20 kV Los Guinchos plant bus through voltage-source converters and a medium-/low-voltage transformer [6][8]
Power-conversion system
Two water-cooled INGEGRID SH-B converters, 400 V low-voltage side, collectively rated 4 MW for the short discharge and 2 MVAr continuously [6]
Technology role
Short-duration frequency and voltage support; the system is not intended for bulk energy shifting [6][8]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Grid-stabilizing storage

Not publicly identified in the reviewed primary sources

A 4 MW / 20 MW·s ultracapacitor provides fast energy injection following a generator disturbance. [2][3]

02

Ultracapacitor storage

Ingeteam

Eight storage cabinets containing 48 ultracapacitor units in total, plus DC sectionalizing and measurement cabinets; the underlying cell maker is not identified in the cited project documentation [6]

03

Power conversion

Ingeteam — INGEGRID SH-B

Two water-cooled bidirectional converter units operating as a voltage-source converter system [6]

04

Plant controller

Ingeteam — INGESYS IC3

PLC-based management and control system coordinating detection and rapid power injection [6]

05

Local supervisory system

Ingeteam — INGESYS IT

Local SCADA for visualization, supervision, and data logging [6]

06

Interconnection transformer

Model not publicly disclosed

Medium-/low-voltage transformer linking the 400 V conversion equipment to the 20 kV bus; manufacturer and nameplate are not disclosed [6]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Frequency response

    After the loss of a generating unit, the controller commands near-instantaneous active-power injection to slow the frequency decline while the surviving diesel generators' governors increase output. [6][8]

  • Resilience function

    The short power burst was designed to reduce or avoid under-frequency load shedding on La Palma's isolated electric system. [5][8]

  • Reactive-power capability

    The converters can provide continuous reactive-power support up to 2 MVAr, adding voltage-control value beyond the seconds-long active-power discharge. [6]

  • Energy-mix interpretation

    The ultracapacitor is storage and produces no net electricity. Its 4 MW figure should not be added to La Palma's generation capacity or treated as renewable generation; it stabilizes a diesel-dominated isolated grid that also includes renewable resources. [4][5]

  • Authorization update

    A 2019 official notice identified a 4 MW ultracapacitor installation at Central Diésel Los Guinchos and opened public review for definitive authorization, indicating a transition from research installation toward permanent-plant status. [7]

  • Current-evidence limit

    Current corporate pages continue to cite the installation, but they do not disclose recent operating hours, outages, state of health, or whether the full original bank remains in service. [4]

Provenance

9 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2020-07-06

  2. [2]
  3. [3]
    The energy transition of islands

    Enel Group · Primary source

  4. [4]
  5. [5]
  6. [6]
  7. [7]
  8. [8]
    Application of an Ultracapacitor System for Frequency Control in an Isolated Power System

    International Conference on Renewable Energies and Power Quality · Primary source

  9. [9]
    La Palma (archived legacy record)

    Microgrid Projects / Internet Archive · Archived source

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