Hand in hand with Miguel Zarzuela we are making a journey in an electric car of more than 2,200 km, where we are evaluating the public fast charging network in Spain and Portugal.
In the first article about this Road Trip we have told you about the first 6 stages of the trip, starting from Zaragoza we have passed through Madrid, Plasencia, Lisbon, the Algarve, Huelva and many other places on the peninsula, where we have been evaluating the quality of the public fast charging network as well as commenting on the anecdotes of the trip and the good and bad of each stage. But we have already left the peninsula, in these last stages of the trip we are going to analyze the public charging infrastructure in the Canary Islands.
Stage 7 of the Road Trip: Santa Cruz de Tenerife – San Sebastián de la Gomera
As Miguel tells us, this stage is not really problematic to do in an electric car since the extension of the islands, especially La Gomera, is not too high, so the autonomy of the car should not be a big problem. Of course, it has had a problem when using the Iberdrola chargers as they are not yet operational, as we will mention below.
4 chargers have been evaluated during the course of this stage, they are the following:
- Endesa X – Las turroneras
- Endesa X – Los Realejos
- Iberdrola – Hermigua
- Iberdrola – Agulo
Of which the best has been Endesa X de las Turroneras, very easy to access from the highway, with a restaurant nearby and functioning as expected. And the worst are those of Iberdrola in La Gomera as they are not available.
In La Gomera, no Iberdrola charger was operational. They were all on but had not started working yet. In La Gomera there are unevennesses of up to 1500 meters, which is a bit overwhelming when you see that no charger on the island was working. What is certain is that the island is so small that great autonomy is not necessary to explore it. It is true that at the time of writing this article all the chargers have been activated, leaving La Gomera perfectly prepared for electric mobility.
Regarding security, Miguel tells us that he has felt safe at all times when making this stage of the trip, in terms of accessibility and location of the chargers, the Endesa X charging point in Los Realejos is quite far from the main path.
The rest of the chargers were well geolocated and accessibility was quite good. To eat, he recommends that there are many guachinches in the north of Tenerife. As a final reflection of this stage, Miguel acknowledges that the situation in La Gomera after all the Iberdrola PDRs have been activated is ideal for an EV. With maximum distances of about 40 km and fast charging points in all towns, the infrastructure is very good. In addition, the autonomy recovered on the steep roads of the island means that the final consumption is less than 12 kWh/100 km.
Stage 8 of the Road Trip: San Sebastián de la Gomera – Santa Cruz de Tenerife
In this eighth and penultimate stage, chargers from both La Gomera and Tenerife have been evaluated and the stage has been somewhat complicated due to the lack of availability of fast chargers. However, since the distances in the archipelago are not great in any case, it has not been a real problem.
4 chargers have been evaluated during the course of this stage, they are the following:
- Iberdrola – San Sebastian De la Gomera
- Endesa X – Arona
- Endesa X – Canary Oil Llano Alegre
- DISA – Avenida Via Penetracion
Of which at this stage, according to Miguel, there have not been any especially good ones, this stage has been quite bad as far as the PDRs are concerned. The worst has undoubtedly been that of Endesa X de Arona. After not working for a while, it has disappeared from the JuicePass app. In addition, the chargers have not worked correctly, we started from San Sebastián de La Gomera, with 3 50 kW chargers out of service and after crossing to Tenerife, the Endesa X de Arona charger did not work either.
As in all the previous stages, Miguel tells us that he has felt safe at all times when making this stage of the trip and in terms of accessibility, it should be noted that there are almost no chargers in the southern area of the island of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the only one that was there is not available. At least the location of the La Gomera shippers is very good as they are located after the disembarkation of the ferries.
To eat Miguel recommends us the guachinches although it is true that they were not very close to the chargers evaluated at this stage. But Miguel thinks that the world of electric vehicles on the islands is the future, as he tells us, each km he travels on the islands, the more interesting the EV becomes in this environment.
The Canary Islands are particularly steep and the average speeds are quite low. Consumption compared to the peninsula has dropped from 15.5 to 12.5 kWh per 100 km, with greater autonomy, also partly due to the better climate.
Stage 9 of the Road Trip: Santa Cruz de Tenerife – Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
We are already entering the last stage of our trip, the ZeemGO Road Trip ends here and it cannot be done in a better place, a city as beautiful and paradisiacal as Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Let’s find out how adapted the city is for electric vehicles.
4 chargers have been evaluated during the course of this stage, they are the following:
- Endesa X – Santa Catalina
- Endesa X – San Isidro
- Endesa X – Arucas
- Cabildo GC – El Tablero (Maspalomas)
Of which the best has been the PDR of Arucas, as there are 2×50 kW together and close to a restaurant area on the northern highway. And the worst in San Isidro, since it was not operational. It was completely turned off and could not be used at any time.
As is now the custom, in terms of security, Miguel has felt safe at all times, which is why we ensure full security at all stages and we can affirm that the trip made is a safe one. In addition, this stage has been very easy to carry out, as in Tenerife, the distances to be covered are very small and the autonomy is always much, much higher than the needs.
As for accessibility, it was good in all of them. The PDR of the impressive hotel in Santa Catalina is in a parking lot, but it is easy to access and the cost of the stay is less than €1. This stage is quite pleasant and pleasant due to the nooks and crannies of the island of Gran Canaria. Lots of unevenness, but very, very low speeds due to the orography.
After more than 500 km traveled, consumption in the Canary Islands is exceptionally low, therefore greater autonomy. Once again, after going up to Pico de las Nieves (1948 masl) and going down again, the advantages of consumption and use of regenerative braking of a purely electric vehicle are obvious.
Trip Review
Do you recommend this ride to EV drivers?
Without a doubt. Due to the repercussion of this trip, many friends have asked me, did you really do the ZeemGO trip with your electric Corsa? The charging infrastructure is more than sufficient today for the number of electric vehicles on the roads right now. Perhaps Portugal is where a busy PDR is most likely to be found, while Spain is highly unlikely today.
Your favorite stage: Stage 3 Plasencia – Lisbon.
The entrance to Portugal from the western limit of Extremadura through the Cedillo dam was exciting both because of the adventure of not knowing for sure if the pass was going to be open (Google does not count it) and the uncertainty of going to the network recharge of Portugal that does not work with the Spanish APPs.
The best of this trip
Electric driving through impressive new places in the Canary Islands. Discovering impressive views of the changing island landscape behind each winding curve will always remain in my retina. Wishing to be able to repeat these roads on an electric motorcycle.
The worst of this trip
Discovering that there is still a lack of will and investment in certain parts of the world for the deployment of a charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in accordance with the climate emergency and the need for decarbonization in which we are embarked. There are still many regional differences that make certain regions very difficult to visit for innumerable reasons such as political, administrative and social.
Curiosities and anecdotes of the trip
On such a long trip, I expected to have had some problem or frustration when it came to charging, taking ferries, tolls, driving, but the truth is that it has been especially pleasant to be an electric nomad and to travel more than 3,000 km without incidents when it comes to carry or travel.
The ZeemGO Road Trip has come to an end, from the ZeemGO team we want to thank Miguel for having led ZeemGO in this adventure and his professionalism throughout the trip and to all the readers who have accompanied us throughout all these stages.
New ZeemGO news and adventures will be coming soon and together we will scale towards a zero emissions future.⚡Stay tuned!⚡
