At first glance; the Canary Islands may not seem the most likely place to find holiday accommodation that has green credentials. But Lanzarote differs from the other islands in the archipelago for a number of reasons; including its use of alternative energy.

One major factor in Lanzarote’s favour is its closeness to the rest of Europe, with most major cities only four hours or less away. Meaning that fuel consumption on flights to and from the island is less than half that used on flights to the other popular winter sun destination, the Caribbean.

Even the Lanzarote villas and apartments contribute to lessening the islands carbon footprint.

Across the island many of the apartments and villas on Lanzarote already use solar panels to produce heated water for their swimming pools. Whilst larger consumers of water, such as the island’s two golf courses, use recycled liquid to ensure that demand on the desalination system is kept to a minimum. Wind power is also popular, with several large turbines generating a proportion of the island’s electricity and smaller turbines used individually.

Whilst most villas in Lanzarote actually run on more conventional sources of energy, there are several which work entirely on these alternatives, and as a result can claim an excellent green pedigree. And as the technologies continue to improve, more residents are choosing to use wind and solar power.

Even Lanzarote’s attractions themselves blend in to their surroundings as much as possible, illustrating how important it was to the world renowned local artist and natural architecture visionary Cesar Manrique, to create visual harmony between the manmade and the natural. Such as the incredible Mirador del Rio which almost disappears into the rock cliff face it inhabits.

All of these elements contribute to the unspoilt feel that Lanzarote has. Even its tourist attractions have been developed to work in harmony with the landscape, due to their design by local born artist C