The Office of Environment of the Consell de Formentera is pleased to report that from 16 December 2022 to 30 June 2023, the Balearic Government will accept applications for €15 million in subsidies to decarbonise the regional marine sector.

Within the impulse to decarbonise the nautical sector, the subsidies aim to electrify maritime transport, retrofit small vessels and purchase new ones, provide shipyards and workshops with machinery to make vessels emission-free, and acquire zero-emission regular and commercial vessels or make existing ones emission-free. For more information on the call and how to apply, click here.

This action is included in the Balearic Islands' Energy Transition Investment Plan, part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan financed by Next Generation funds from the European Union.

15 December 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Office of Environment of the Consell de Formentera is working to implement two energy communities in the area of Sant Francesc. This initiative is part of VPP4 Islands, a project which Formentera joined in 2020 to incorporate technological innovation and promote use of renewable energies in Europe.

According to Antoni Tur, councillor of environment, "Formentera will host this pilot test which will involve islanders in creating a community to share energy from solar panels". The councillor encouraged homeowners and companies to participate in the trial – "a chance to produce and use renewable energies which will help raise awareness among the population".

To develop this test, the project will fund solar panel installations in two new energy communities, one with an energy storage system. In turn, the project will collect data about production, storage and consumption to allow for improved decisions and forecasts about this new system and its deployment. The communities will be installed in Sant Francesc (see image). The community equipped with storage capacity will occupy a 100-metre radius from the library building moving towards the village, and the community without storage capacity lies within a 500-metre radius of the football pitch.

Friday, info session
To explain the particulars of the project to islanders, the Consell has organised a first information meeting open to all at 6.00pm, Friday 16 December, in the Plenary Hall (Sala de Plens) of the Formentera Day Centre (Centre de Dia).

VPP4 Islands is a consortium funded by the European Union to deploy renewable energies. The project aims to integrate renewable systems, accelerate the transition to smart and green energy and help exploit the potential for energy efficiency in islands of the EU.

14 December 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Today the initial list of mooring assignments at Estany des Peix was posted on the Consell de Formentera bulletin board.

Starting tomorrow and over the next seven working days, 14 December inclusive, applicants may submit new documentation that has been requested and is necessary to obtain the mooring, and present comments.

Those who have submitted the required documentation should wait for the final list to be made public.

Once the final list is published, individuals who have been offered a place have seven working days to accept it.

For more information, please contact the Office of Environment by phone at 971321210 or by e-mail at mediambient@conselldeformentera.cat.

1 December 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Environment (Conselleria de Medi Ambient, CMAF) is pleased to report that yesterday the Governing Board approved a list including assessment of the applications for ecological moorings at Estany des Peix. After evaluation and ranking of all the applications submitted, publication of the list will be followed by a period of seven working days during which time individuals may submit required documentation and comments. The list appears in today's publication of the government commission minutes section on the Consell de Formentera website.

A total of 489 applications were submitted for 285 moorings, the number of moorings authorised in Ses Salines Natural Reserve. Sixty-two applications were rejected due to non-compliance with the terms as stated in the regulations governing mooring and the legal regime for mooring equipment. Of the applications reviewed, 139 are classed as preferential because applicants submitted proof that they anchored in Estany des Peix before 5 July 2002, when the Natural Resources Management Plan (Pla d'Ordenació dels Recursos Naturals) took effect.

Antoni Tur, councillor of environment, remarked that "for many years Formentera residents have campaigned to preserve Estany des Peix, and this must be done by ordering and regulating. The current situation of overcrowded anchored boats and unlawful and non-regulated activities that have been carried out there for many years presented a risk to the environment".

Traditional use and priority ranking
Regulations approved by the Consell de Formentera assembly, which took effect 9 March, prioritise watercraft whose use is part of established tradition. Priority is also given to small-sized boats and those with minimal engine power, as well as those whose anchorage at Estany des Peix is long standing. Additional points go to subsidised traditional boats, retired users and large families.

Once again, Councillor Tur apologised for the inconvenience that works have caused to Estany des Peix users, and he thanked them for "their understanding, patience and collaboration" over the course of the project. "We are working to protect our natural environment and to provide solutions for recreational boating on Formentera." Councillor Tur also highlighted "the tremendous work of CMAF's technical and administrative personnel in developing this ambitious and unprecedented project in the Balearic Islands."

Meanwhile, efforts are under way to finalise the technical solution agreed with the administration of Ses Salines Nature Reserve to site the last ecological moorings to complete the sustainable anchoring project.

Questions? Contact  the CMAF by phone at 971321210 and by email at mediambient@conselldeformentera.cat.

30 November 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera