Open the file `/libraries/joomla/factory.php` and search for `getDate()` function:

    public static function getDate($time = 'now', $tzOffset = null)

The default value of time zone offset (`$tzOffset`) is `null` and not `0`. It may be due to a mistake in Joomla API documentation or it's for versions older than 2.5.

In Joomla 3, `$date_zero_offset = JFactory::getDate('now', 0);` raises an error:

> DateTime::__construct() expects parameter 2 to be DateTimeZone, integer given 

So for Canary Islands, you can use this:

    $date_zero_offset = JFactory::getDate('now', 'Atlantic/Canary');