Plans unveiled for new reinforced power cable linking Eivissa and Formentera

Presentacio nou cable electricEarlier this evening, the Govern's minister of energy, Marc Pons, stood before members of the Formentera Council to share details surrounding a new undersea power cable the Palma administration hopes to run from Eivissa to Formentera. Today is the first day of public notice of the nearly €78-million project.

CiF chair Jaume Ferrer said calls for the cable went back years and characterised it as “an essential investment for our energy system”. According to the Council head, the cable will do away with the noise and emissions problems faced by residents near the power station in the Es Ca Marí neighbourhood. The Council, he pledged, will present its own review of the scheme along with suggested improvements. Ferrer also intimated that the administration would push to minimise any knock-on effects, particularly in inland portions of the project.

Technical features
The project, which officials predicted would be complete between 2019 and 2020, envisions construction on Formentera of an ancillary power station rigged for 132 kilowatts (kW), expansion of Eivissa's existing 132-kW station, “Torrent,” burial of ground portions of cables on both islands, installation of the underwater cable itself and a tripolar linkage with integrated, AC fibre-optic connections. Undersea operations will not exceed a depth of 65 metres, nominal tension of 132 kW and 100 megawatt power.

Plans for the cable reflect an attempt to address the shortcomings long plaguing Formentera's summer electricity supply while sidestepping new infrastructure that would generate power locally. Today, the connection between the islands is equipped for 30 kW, though near constant snags have threatened the stability of Formentera's energy supplies.

In attendance at the presentation were Alejandra Ferrer, Rafael González and Daisee Aguilera, the Council's heads of land, infrastructure/IT and environment/energy, respectively. Also in tow were the Govern's director general of energy and climate change, Joan Groizard, the regional envoy of Spain's power grid, Eduardo Maynau, and the Govern delegation's chief of industry, José Ignacio Pradas.