The President of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Margalida Prohens, has announced an agreement to begin the overland route of the second electricity link between the mainland and the archipelago. This project will make it possible to cover 65% of the islands’ energy demand with an electricity mix made up mostly of renewable energies. “The aim of this link is in no way to encourage an increase in demand, but rather to respond to current demand with a supply from clean and sustainable energies”, explained Prohens.

Margalida Prohens, President of the Government of the Balearic Islands. Photo: CAIB.

The link, with a capacity of 2200 MW in direct current, will be submarine-underground and will be approximately 400 km long, of which 390 km will be underwater and the rest underground. This connection will link the Fadrell converter station in Castelló with the new Sant Martí converter station in Majorca. As it is located in an already industrialised environment, the new infrastructure will be integrated without causing any new effects.

Strategic project

This second link with the mainland is a strategic project for the Balearic Islands’ electricity system that will strengthen the quality of supply, guarantee a renewable future and advance in the energy transition, key to the de-powering of the autonomous community’s electricity generation system. This project will avoid the emission of 905 kt of CO2 per year and will allow the Government to better cover the demand from clean energy.

The next steps are the beginning of the process of public information, evaluation and environmental and administrative processing of the project, in which the transparency and participation of the public administrations and citizens will be guaranteed. Subsequently, a working group will be set up to reach a consensus on the cable route, which will be made up of the Government, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the Alcúdia Town Council, the Consell Insular de Mallorca, the residents’ platform and Red Eléctrica.