Balearic Islands

The Spanish government has selected 55 solar installations in the procurement exercise. About 256 MW of the projects it awarded will be built on Mallorca, while Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera will host 61 MW, 6 MW and 2 MW of new capacity, respectively.

A new project is in line with the target of the Island Council of Tenerife to cover all electricity demand with renewable energy. The development of electromobility and storage is key to the ambition.

The Balearic parliament is today set to approve the Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition that includes, among other measures, an obligation to incorporate PV panels in car parks and new buildings. The bill also mandates the closure of all polluting power plants from next year and a prohibition of diesel vehicles from 2025, and petrol engines from 2035.

The government of the archipelago is planning to decommission parts of thermal power plant Es Murterar and to increase the share of renewables through the deployment of large-scale PV capacity.

Spanish electricity grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE) announced on Wednesday the construction of a 126-kilometer long cable interconnecting the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Ibiza. The project can potentially benefit PV, which now lags behind in the sun-washed islands of the Mediterranean Sea, but this will require time.