The President of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol; the Vice President and Minister of Energy Transition, Productive Sectors and Democratic Memory, Juan Pedro Yllanes; the councillor of Mobility and Housing, Josep Marí, and the third vice-president and minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, have visited the work on the underwater power line of the new electricity link between Ibiza and Formentera, an infrastructure that will guarantee the island of Formentera’s electricity supply in a safe and stable manner all year round. They were accompanied by the mayor of Eivissa, Rafael Ruiz; the president of the Balearic Islands Port Authority, Jaume Colom; the mayor of Santa Eulària del Riu, Carmen Ferrer; and the presidents of the island councils of Ibiza and Formentera, Vicent Marí and Ana de Juan.
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The submarine cable
Work on the underwater installation is now complete, and the infrastructure must now be secured and protected, as well as the terrestrial cables in both Ibiza and Formentera and the substations on each island, which will be the connection points for the electricity link.
This new infrastructure will come into operation in 2023 and will involve supplying Formentera with electricity so that local energy generation through highly polluting mechanisms will no longer be necessary. It is therefore a step forward in the government’s strategy towards energy transition. In addition to reducing emissions, the new link will also enable economic savings of 3.5 million euros annually.
Armengol emphasised the government’s commitment to sustainability, noting that “the Balearic Islands is the region that will have the most investment in energy in Spain, in addition to policies such as the Climate Change Act, the Waste Act, the Posidonia Decree and the commitment to European funds, which are allowing us to increase photovoltaic parks, self-consumption and the energy rehabilitation of existing buildings”.
In the words of the vice-president of the Govern, Juan Pedro Yllanes, “Formentera, Ibiza and the Balearic Islands as a whole are to be congratulated because we are moving a little further towards an electricity system that is better connection between us, more robust, safer and better prepared for this energy transition that is already becoming a reality. Improvements that will have an impact on health by improving air quality, on the climate by meeting the energy transition and on the economy by reducing system operating costs”.
The new connection, approximately 37.1 km long, has cost 96 million euros and its route is all underground. In addition, a horizontal directional drilling technique has been used to install the underwater route, which aims to generate the minimum possible environmental impact and not harm the biodiversity of the area, such as the Posidonia meadows. This new connection consists of a double 132 kV underwater electrical circuit between the Pitiusas Islands, which will connect the Torrent substation in Santa Eulària and a new substation built in Formentera, in Es Ca Marí, and has a transport capacity of 53 megavolt amperes.