The Balearic Islands have an energy transition plan ready

It stands on six performance pillars

Last week, Francina Armengol, the President of the Balearic Islands government, presented to the Spanish authorities the regional plan for energy transition. The plan is financed with 233 million euros from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Program and among its objectives is the jump from 6% of renewable energy production to 30% in 2026, as well as the creation of 7,000 job positions in the sector.

The energy transition plan of the region is supported by six performance programmes. In the words, of President Armengol, it represents "a fundamental qualitative and quantitative leap to achieve a just ecological transition", which emphasizes issues such as "the fight against energy poverty" and makes a "firm commitment to the implementation of renewable energies, for shared self-consumption projects, for sustainable mobility or in the management of the water cycle”.

The Plan in more detail

The first programme is dedicated to the creation of five offices to stimulate the energy transition (6.5 million euros). These offices, which must cover the entire territory of the islands, have the function of accompanying and guiding citizens, companies and administrations in the absorption of aid, in addition to raising awareness among citizens and ensuring that the energy transition is inclusive and therefore reaches all layers of society.

On the other hand, the second program provides for investment in innovative projects that can diversify the production model (33.8 million euros), financing those projects that create stable and quality jobs and stimulating innovative talent.

The greatest mobilization of resources is allocated to help in the promotion of the energy transition. The objective is to reach sectors not covered by other existing aid and promote energy generation, storage and the installation of vehicle recharging points. The beneficiaries may be individuals, giving priority to vulnerable groups; companies, especially favouring small and medium-sized companies and the Public Administration.

The third programme allocates 70 million euros to face the challenges of insularity, with the financing of more than 2,000 recharging points powered by solar energy, the promotion of shared rental systems or the promotion of collective transport in areas of high environmental value. It also plans to accompany the creation of low-emission zones and actions to decarbonise the sea, promote the electrification of up to 20 ports and promote the construction of zero-emission vessels, among other actions. Finally, it includes self-consumption and storage actions in water cycle infrastructures.

The transformation of the energy model aims to be socially fair. For this reason, the fourth programme allocates 30 million euros to promoting comprehensive self-consumption projects in buildings with homes where families in vulnerable situations live, among other actions that also involve the Public Administration and large energy consumers. 

The fifth programme allocates 68 million euros to aid for the generation of renewable energies and gives priority to urban land, as well as the 'solarization' of car parks, storage systems, the creation of energy communities and the improvement in network management. 

Finally, it is worth highlighting the commitment to the energy transition of the Administration of the Autonomous Community, established in the sixth programme.