Here is AI summarizing what has happened to the plan to build a Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) in Hawaii, then the Canary Islands, and now... ???
In September 2026, the TMT International Observatory (TIO) formally rejected a massive €1 billion ($1.13 billion) financing package offered by the Spanish government to construct the mega-observatory at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma.
The breakdown of the Canary Islands "Plan B" comes down to a few key factors:
• No Internal Consensus: The TMT board and its international partners (which include Caltech, the University of California, and the national science departments of Japan, India, and Canada) were ultimately unable to reach an agreement on the required financing structure.
• U.S. Budget Reductions: The project has been heavily strained by funding uncertainties and proposed budget cuts from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), complicating long-term operational planning.
• Scientific Limitations: Some astronomers remained hesitant about the move because La Palma's lower elevation and warmer climate compared to Hawaii limit its capability for mid-infrared observations.
What happens next?
With the Canary Islands officially ruled out, the TMT project is running out of options. The board is doubling down on its original, preferred site: Mauna Kea in Hawaii. However, construction there has been completely stalled since 2019 due to heavy protests from Native Hawaiians who consider the mountain sacred.
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As blog readers will know, UC is part of the consortium that intended to build TMT on Hawaii or the Canary Islands. Without a feasible plan and money for it, the plan is effectively dead.
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