Excerpt and Photo from thecooldown.com

El Hierro, the tiniest of the main islands in Spain’s Canary archipelago, made history in the summer of 2023 when it supplied all the island’s energy needs with just wind and water power for 28 days straight, as Euronews Green reported.

El Hierro (sometimes called Ferro) is currently the only island in the world to have achieved such a feat, said the news outlet, and it serves as a beacon of hope to cool the planet.

According to the report, “the 1.1 million-year-old volcanic island is on route to being 100 percent energy self-sufficient,” thanks in large part to its innovative wind-pumped hydropower plant, Gorona del Viento.

The hydroelectric power station is the main source of electricity on the island, delivering energy to El Hierro’s roughly 11,000 inhabitants. Gorona del Viento takes advantage of the island’s unique topography, combining hydropower generated between lakes at different elevations and wind energy from strong gusts off the Atlantic Ocean.