Consell expands solar panel installations on four public buildings

foto 2023ii fotovoltaiques AThe Office of Environment of the Consell de Formentera is expanding solar panel installations across various public buildings, including CEIP Sant Ferran de ses Roques, the Formentera Day Centre, Es Molí social building and tennis courts and the Nautical Sports Centre (CENF) of La Savina.

Work at CEIP Sant Ferran de ses Roques is already completed, with panels installed on the school's roof that will add 33.79 kilowatts peak (kWp) of clean energy to the 30.24 kWp already generated. Approval is forthcoming for expansion of the current installation on the Formentera Day Centre, which will bring total sustainable energy production at the building from 25 kWp to 125 kWp. The project also includes plans to install an electric vehicle charging point near the buildings. As for the Es Molí social building and tennis courts, crews have just completed works to guarantee electricity production totalling 16.79 kWp. The installation at the CENF, which will generate 13.08 kWp, is also underway.

Antoni Tur, environment councillor, said that the Consell "continues to develop the goals set out in the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and is committed to achieving EU targets for cutting green-house gas emissions with actions related to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources." In that connection, it is estimated that the new facilities, when fully operational, will prevent the emission of roughly 80 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Upcoming projects
The next projects that the Office of Environment is working on include photovoltaic pergolas across part of the Antoni Blanc Sports Centre car park, which will generate approximately 99 kWp, and five recharge points with 22 kWp of power each. Additional plans are being finalised to cover the main offices of the Consell de Formentera, in the Plaça de la Constitució, with an installation that will produce 17 kWp of clean energy.

Councillor Tur stressed that these actions, in addition to improving energy efficiency, "will help raise awareness about current actions among islanders who use the facilities and the public at large." The Consell is currently spearheading the creation of two energy communities in the area of Sant Francesc as part of VPP4 Islands. The initiative, which Formentera joined in 2020, incorporates technological innovation to promote the use of renewable energies in Europe.

In that regard, the Office of Environment is finalising the cross-cutting Action Plan for Climate and Sustainable Energy (PACES), which proposes varying lines of action and that will set the path forward for the island's energy policy.

8 February 2023
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera