Four major hotels and tourist complexes in Lanzarote are planning to use geothermal technology to reduce the amount of energy needed to keep their properties cool, as the tourism industry looks for more efficient ways to cut its substantial electricity consumption.

During 2026, four establishments in Puerto del Carmen have started the process of obtaining permission for geothermal systems that use the stable temperature of underground water to make air conditioning and cooling systems more efficient.

Together, the projects could involve circulating more than 7,000 cubic metres of water per day.

The latest property to join the initiative is the Hotel Seaside Los Jameos Playa, in the municipality of Tías.

Its application, published this week in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC), requests permission to use several wells connected to its cooling system. The project could circulate up to 1,848 cubic metres of water per day.

The application will now be open to public consultation for 30 days.

Four major tourism complexes involved

Since May, the Lanzarote Island Water Council has published similar applications from another three tourist establishments in Puerto del Carmen.

The Lanzarote Village Hotel plans to use up to 730.80 cubic metres per day, while Ilunion Costa Sal Apartments has applied for up to 2,064 cubic metres.

The largest of the four projects is at Hotel Las Costas, where the proposed system could circulate as much as 2,400 cubic metres daily.

Combined with Los Jameos Playa, the four projects total more than 7,000 cubic metres of water every day.

How does geothermal cooling work?

Although the word "geothermal" is often associated with large power stations generating electricity from heat deep inside the Earth, the systems proposed by the Lanzarote hotels are considerably simpler.

Rather than generating electricity, they take advantage of the relatively stable temperature underground and in groundwater to improve the efficiency of heating and cooling systems.

In practical terms, this means that air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment can potentially use less electricity to achieve the same temperatures.

That is particularly attractive for large hotels, where cooling hundreds of bedrooms and communal areas, as well as heating swimming pools, can account for a significant proportion of energy consumption throughout the year.

Already proven in Canary Islands hotels

Geothermal technology is not new to the Canary Islands. As far back as 2019, the Canary Islands Government estimated that more than 40 businesses across the archipelago were already operating geothermal installations, with many of them located in hotels in Gran Canaria, Tenerife and particularly Lanzarote.

One example highlighted by the regional government was the Relaxia Olivina Hotel in Puerto del Carmen.

According to figures released at the time, its geothermal installation resulted in an 84% reduction in the energy used to heat its swimming pool and a 50% reduction in energy used for air conditioning.

For the island's tourism industry, reducing the electricity required for cooling could offer both significant cost savings and a reduction in overall energy consumption.