- The unused urea comes from the thermal power plants of Granadilla and Barranco de Tirajana, in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, respectively, and will be transported and distributed as a result of an agreement with the company 'Canarias Explosivos'.
- Urea is a widely used component in the agricultural sector as it provides a high nitrogen content essential for plant metabolism.
Endesa donated 68,000 litres of urea to farmers on La Palma whose farmland was affected by the Cumbre Vieja volcano. Urea is highly valued as a component of fertiliser in the agricultural sector for its rich nitrogen content, an element that contributes to the healthy growth of plants because it is an essential component in the chlorophyll process.
Urea was also used until recently as a catalyst to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in thermal power plants, but it has been replaced by ammonia which is even more effective in performing this function. This means that the quantities of urea stored in the deposits at the Granadilla and Barranco de Tirajana power plants, in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, respectively, have fallen into disuse.
Manuel Rubias, Manager of the thermal power plants in Tenerife, explained that "urea was used to react with nitrogen oxides to transform them into molecular nitrogen thus reducing the volume of gaseous nitrogen oxides, or NOx. Ammonia is now used in the same way in the process of Selective Catalytic Reactors (SCR) which has been the case since 2021, and its function is the same as urea".
This has resulted in Endesa giving a second chance to the fertiliser stored at its installations. It also contributes to the circular economy and sustainable development by donating 68,000 litres of urea, which will be packaged in 34,000 bottles, and which will be destined for the farmers of La Palma, who for the last year and a half have been affected by the devastating consequences of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the primary sector which is the island's economic engine.
The idea of using the disused urea from the Granadilla and Barranco de Tirajana thermal power plants for a fair, social and circular economy cause responds to teamwork by Endesa Generación in the Canary Islands, with the direct involvement of workers from both plants in the tasks of managing the removal, together with the Sustainability & CSV Projects team who have given gave shape and impetus to this initiative that also contributes to the primary sector. Finally, a decisive agreement was signed between Endesa and the company 'Canarias Explosivos S.A', which will be responsible for removing the urea from the Canary Islands' power plants, transporting the product to La Palma and distributing it to those farmers who were interested.
Just a few days ago, 'Canarias Explosivos SA' removed the first 16,000 litres of urea from the Granadilla plant and transferred them to the packaging plant that the company has in Las Chafiras, in Tenerife. A second operation, also in Granadilla, involved removing a further 13,000 litres. The remaining amount of urea, up to 68,000 litres, will be removed from Endesa's installations in Barranco de Tirajana, in Gran Canaria, in the coming weeks.
About Endesa
Endesa is the largest electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. The company is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. It operates an end-to-end generation, distribution and marketing business. Through Endesa X it also offers value-added services aimed at the electrification of energy use in homes, companies, industries and Public Administrations. A new business line called Endesa X Way has also been created and is fully dedicated to electric mobility. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and strongly supports the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power España, the digitalisation of grids through e-distribución, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The Endesa Foundation is also active in CSR-related matters. Our workforce numbers around 9,260 employees. Endesa is a division of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe.