The use of renewable energy in the Canary Islands is far from its potential capacity. This is due to a number of main reasons, including the scarce presence of adequately trained professionals and specialized companies, the lack of regulated studies that allow the adequate training of these technicians, the insufficient involvement of public and private resources for their promotion, and the lack of a social culture that effectively demands this type of energy infrastructure.
However, in 2006, three institutions that are very active in the field of renewable energies in the Canary Islands agreed to promote a Master's degree in Renewable Energy: the University of La Laguna, the Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC) and the Institute of Technology for Renewable Energy. In 2010, the degree became an official Master's degree, and from 2012, face-to-face teaching was exclusively provided by the University of La Laguna, while the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol and the subsequent commitment of the State Government to the revision of the National Energy Plan and the promotion of renewable energies are aspects that are causing a significant increase in the demand for professionals in this sector, so the need to design and implement the studies that we propose within this Master's degree is of great importance at the present time and in the future. Added to this is the shift that most major countries are making in their energy policies, making a decisive commitment to renewable energy, which is undoubtedly generating a major boost on a global scale.
Descending to the scope of the Canary Islands Autonomous Community, most of the applications derived from renewable energies, to be dealt with within this master's degree, are crucial for the sustainable development of the Canary Islands, such as desalination, bioclimatism, endogenous production of electrical energy and the resulting economic development.
It is also important to note that, based on the experience gained in managing two editions of the Master's Degree in Renewable Energies and the first edition as an official qualification, we have perceived the great demand for this type of studies, both within our autonomous community and from students from other parts of the national territory and Latin America who wish to study our qualification, which has always caused the number of pre-registrations to exceed the limits of offered enrolments (25). This demand has been much greater when the qualification has been offered in the form of an Official Postgraduate Degree, which has also meant a significant decrease in enrolment fees.
A final aspect to consider is the potential benefit from a strategic point of view within the scope of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, where there is no official qualification in renewable energies. Thus, the contents of the qualification are very well adjusted to what is established within the Canary Islands R&D+i+d Plan 2007 – 2010. Specifically, the Canary Islands R&D+i+d Plan proposes one of its nine Strategic Investments related to Sustainability, betting on the development of activities in renewable energies and efficient use of water, and where the University is indicated as one of the four agents involved in its development.