Work begins on third electric cable to Formentera

foto 2021 tercer cableBThe Consell de Formentera is pleased to report that crews will start work today on a third undersea cable between Eivissa’s Torrent substation and the substation in Es Ca Marí, part of a bid to improve coverage on Formentera's power grid. According to the national electricity grid operator, the new line, together with two built-in 132 kilovolt (kV) connectors, won’t just make it possible to meet consumption needs safely and stably, it will also deliver a boost to the green energy transition in the Balearics.

Work related to the €96m infrastructure project, including construction of a pipeline to house the cable, is expected to take six months. "It's one of the largest investments ever made in the history of our island", explained President Alejandra Ferrer, who said she hoped it would solve noise issues that residents in the area have endured “for too many years". And she went further still, assuring that the roadmap for Formentera was to "continue promoting renewable energies" and work to set "a timetable for decarbonisation of the power plant".

The line will leave the Eivissa shoreline at Talamanca and run 27.15 kilometres at a maximum depth of 62 metres below the water’s surface. The underwater cable will not affect Ses Salines Natural Reserve, added Ferrer, who pointed out that decision-making about the route of the line had involved consensus with local government, and that the goal was “to avoid damaging posidonia meadows”.

Construction updates

On Eivissa the works will cover a 5.26-km swath of land between Torrent and Talamanca. On Formentera the affected area will span 4.8 km, stretching from Es Carnatge to the PM-820, following alongside the highway in a straight line to Es Ca Marí before doglegging over to the substation. The cable will run underground and cut mainly across public land. Though some partial road closures will be required, the only area completely closed to vehicle traffic will be at the line’s arrival at Es Ca Marí. Complete information on the progress of the works and associated road closures can be found in a dedicated section of the Formentera Office of Infrastructure website.

Last Monday 11 October, project engineers from Red Eléctrica de España offered local political party representatives an overview of plans for the third power line.


13 October 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera