Thursday 13th January 2022
THE GOVERN PROMOTES IN CALVIÀ THE FIRST RENEWABLE ENERGY COMMUNITY FOR INDIVIDUALS
Presentation of the first renewable energy community for individuals promoted by the Government at the Galatzó residential estate, with the support of Calvià Town Hall, and which will allow them to lower the electricity bill by up to 40%.
The meeting with representatives of the eight neighbourhood communities that may participate in the project was attended by the vice president and regional minister Juan Pedro Yllanes, the mayor of Calvià Alfonso Rodríguez Badal; the deputy mayor for Youth, Participation, Environment, Ecological Transition and Democratic Memory, Marga Plomer; the councillor for Environment, Ecological Transition and Democratic Memory, Rafel Sedano, department from which the initiative has been coordinated with the Regional Ministry; the councillor for the Galatzó area, Marcos Pecos; the director general of Energy and Climate Change, Pep Malagrava, and the general manager of the IBE, Ferran Rosa.
Regional Ministry's press release
The vice president and regional minister of Energy Transition, Productive Sectors and Democratic Memory, Juan Pedro Yllanes, today presented what will be the first renewable energy community that will directly benefit the citizens of an entire residential area. A project promoted by the General Directorate of Energy and Climate Change, through the Balearic Energy Institute (IBE), which has the support of Calvià Town Hall, and which will be located at the Galatzó residential area.
This energy community will install photovoltaic panels in different areas of the residential estate such as the pre-education school, school or sports centre, in addition to other residential roofs and parking lots. Initial calculations indicate that in these spaces more than 900 kW of power can be installed, so that residents can lower their electricity bill by up to 40%, paying at cost for energy in production hours and without the need to make any initial investment. About 80% of the residential area's consumption could be supplied with photovoltaic energy installed on the roofs, benefiting both public and private spaces.
The event was attended by the vice president and regional minister Juan Pedro Yllanes, the mayor of Calvià Alfonso Rodríguez Badal; the deputy mayor for Youth, Participation, Environment, Ecological Transition and Democratic Memory, Marga Plomer; the councillor for Environment, Ecological Transition and Democratic Memory, Rafel Sedano, department from which the initiative has been coordinated with the Regional Ministry; the councillor for the Galatzó area, Marcos Pecos; the director general of Energy and Climate Change, Pep Malagrava, and the general manager of the IBE, Ferran Rosa.
"The energy transition is an opportunity to fight against climate change and energy poverty, doing it from a socially just perspective and ensuring that everyone can benefit from self-consumption", said vice president Yllanes, for whom "Energy communities are the key piece to achieve the energy model change towards a more decentralised and participatory system. For this reason, we want this type of projects to be a reference and to be replicated in all kinds of neighbourhoods, villages and residential areas of the Balearic Islands”.
Yllanes recalled that the Next Generation funds represent a historic opportunity to change the energy model and that the Regional Ministry of Energy Transition has already announced that it will shortly open a call with an initial 100 million euros to promote these projects. "From the Balearic Islands we want to be leaders in these new forms of collective self-consumption, as we are in the self-consumption of individuals."
For mayor Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, “it is magnificent news for Calvià that one of our areas is the first in which an initiative like this is developed. We appreciate the significant investment of the Government, "he added," which is committed to Es Galatzó residential area for a sustainable, clean energy model that will also benefit the residents of the area by reducing their electricity bill, and with no cost to them'.
"Energy transition must also serve for a new social model, where the collective is above the individual", explained the general director of Energy and Climate Change, Pep Malagrava. In addition, with these projects, it improves climate awareness and energy consumption reduction. Energy communities have a great environmental but also economic benefit, and administrations must do everything in our power to enable this change in the energy model based on proximity and cooperation between people, companies and institutions.
The IBE will manage the entire energy community of Galatzó, which will be carried out in several phases and will be able to reinvest the income to pay for them. During production hours, energy could be sold for around 0.075 € / kwh. A saving of between 30 and 40% is estimated on the users' bill.
Those responsible for the Vice Presidency and Calvià Town Hall have transferred all these details to the representatives of the different neighbourhood communities in the area, in a later meeting in the afternoon at the CEIP Puig de sa Ginesta.
It should be borne in mind that the IBE is already promoting this type of projects in industrial estates. This is the case of the first two energy communities, in Sant Lluís (Menorca) and in Marratxí.