The cable, or rather cables as there are three of them, will go from Sagunto to Sa Ferradura in Alcudia on the Bay of Pollensa. The land route will be to the Sant Martí substation by the Es Murterar power station in Alcudia, where a converter station will have to be built (as was the case in Santa Ponsa).
There needs to be a minimum distance between these three cables of between 25 and 50 metres, although at greater depths this distance will be much greater. The maximum depth is 1,613 metres; the distance between each cable will be 750 metres.
Red Eléctrica, responsible for Spain's national grid, calculates that 65% of average annual electricity demand in the Balearics will be covered by the two links. CO2 emissions will be reduced by 905,000 tonnes per annum because of less need for fossil fuels. There will be an annual saving of 149 million euros.
By bringing the connection to Alcudia, it will not be necessary to build a new onshore transmission network as one already exists. Were it to arrive in the south of the island, it would be necessary to build a new transmission network. The whole length of the second link will be 389.8 kilometres, whereas the first was 237.
The precise land route has yet to be decided, although there is clearly a preferred route. Both the entry point and the land route have caused considerable controversy in Alcudia. While there have been objections to the cable full stop, a chief argument has been that it should arrive in Puerto Alcudia (Bay of Alcudia) instead. An underground high-tension cable between the port and the substation was laid some years ago.
Opposition has been on natural heritage and health grounds. Posdionia sea grass meadows have been a factor in influencing the decision. Red Eléctrica argues that it has opted for a route with the least impact on posidonia - 974.5 square metres. In the case of the Santa Ponsa connection, which became operational in 2012, the impact was 1,920 square metres.
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What a bunch of nimbys, a cable was put in the Santa ponsa beach years ago and has now been forgotten.
Whoa! So now it’s three cables, needing to be kept apart by 25 meters each, minimum. That’s a lot of digging up of beautiful countryside. But hey, the Posdionia is safe. That’s also a lot of residents having these cables laid very close to their homes, as it will have to cut through an urbanisation. Never mind their health or safety because at least the Posdionia is safe! And all the while there’s an obvious better, safer, less destructive option. What a load of utter rubbish.
So true Chevy! Interestingly, not only is Alcúdia one of the richest councils in Spain - with a hundred million euros plus in the bank, but it also benefits significantly - to the tune of hundreds of thousands of euros - from European Union funds. The reason for this kind euro donation is to support work on Alcúdia’s ancient, world heritage walls. I wonder if the EU knows that their little pet ‘heritage’ project is about to have its nature reserves destroyed by a billion euro electric corporation, that lacks any moral compass? Look after the ancient walls, but screw nature! Just a thought.
Three cables and six years of work - as it will not be operational until 2030? Does this mean six years of massive construction disruption? Let alone complete destruction of the natural world in and around a gorgeous area. What is the impact of three high voltage cables in the sea and on the land? Is there a need for all three? And why do they have to be brought into an area of outstanding natural beauty? I certainly do not understand the logic. What I do understand is that huge companies often or always get there way when locals should be listened to and yet their views and feelings are not being taken into account. Thank you.
tranq tranquerI think Andrew is the journalist to make some sense of the figures? Red have consistently withheld information, not given local people the facts, done their own posidonia map (yes we all believe them!!) and generally tried to disclose as little information as possible. It’s all smoke and mirrors. If the cables are so dangerous that they have to be 50 metres apart - what are they going to do to the sea bed, the environment, the population?? How did two cables suddenly become three? Why aren’t Red focusing on using the existing electric industrial site in the port? What is Red’s justification for destroying hectares of natural countryside?? No one knows. Because they’re so secretive. Perhaps because if people realised just how mad/bad this plan was then the whole of Mallorca would be outraged. It’s seems they’re trying to restrict information and pretend it just a small local issue - with ‘nimbies’. Alcúdia, as an area, is a place of stunning natural beauty. It’s very rare and precious. Once it’s been destroyed it will be gone forever. This fight is much bigger than a few local people. It’s about protecting the natural heritage of Mallorca.
Lisa JuliaIf those are the facts then its a no brainer, use the industrial site. I wonder what the cost differential is ?
The area that Red plan to destroy is one of the few areas of unspoilt beauty left on the coast of Mallorca. It’s breathtaking that an island which prides itself on protecting nature, which claims to care about the environment and which pretends to care about quality/eco tourism is even considering this insane plan. People aren’t Luddite’s, they understand that communities need electricity. But raping an area of natural beauty when there’s a perfectly good industrial site, with connections already in place in the port of Alcúdia - is criminal. Red, the government and the local council will go down in history as causing ecological Armageddon if they aren’t forced to stop this horrific plan now!!!!!