Anybody that has driven along the A-323 as it passes through the canyon below Vélez de Benaudalla cannot have failed to have been distracted by the manmade waterfall called Cañizares, which plummets down from a water channel above, before disappearing under the road – it is quite spectacular.

Well, plans have been drawn up to harness this water force and thus produce enough electricity to power 800 homes on the coast. This has long been proposed by local farmers, as the waterfall forms a part of the Vega irrigation system.
The Salto de Cañizares measures 48 metres in height, so that is quite a weight of water coming down, more than enough to turn a hydro-generating turbine. This old dream could finally materialise thanks to a project drawn up by the University of Jaen and the Provincial Agency for Energy.

The project entails an energy output of around 3.482mw per hour, producing enough to supply a village of 2,000 inhabitants. The budget would have to be around 900,000 euros, which would be recuperated within five years thanks to the energy produced.

(News: Velez de Benaudalla, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)