With the opening of a new farm next month, El Hierro, population just over 10,000, will become the first island in the world to be fully energy self-sufficient through combined wind and water power. The five wind turbines will provide 11.5 megawatts of power, enough to meet the demand of the population and desalination plants on this small crop of land off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.
When the wind isn't blowing, hydropower will fill the void. When the wind is blowing, power will be used to pump water into a reservoir in a volcanic crater about 2,300 feet above sea level. Then when power is needed, that water will be released down to a lower reservoir and used to generate electricity on the way.
With the $75 million project set to come online, El Hierro will no longer have to rely on costly and dirty generators for electricity - although it will maintain an oil power station just in case. According to Phys.org, the island's transition to renewable energy will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20,600 tons per year and save the island from using 40,000 barrels of oil a year.
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