The project for the new interconnection that will strengthen the electricity connection between the islands of Ibiza and Formentera has received a favourable Environmental Impact Statement following the decision adopted by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. This authorisation allows Red Eléctrica to schedule the works related to the cable layout of the link and to begin, after the summer, the works associated with the land sections of the interconnection in Ibiza and Formentera, once the permitting procedures, which include the Prior Administrative Approval, the Administrative Permits for Construction Works, the Declaration of Public Utility and the granting of concessions regarding property considered part of the Maritime-Terrestrial Public Domain, have been completed.

With a budget of 95.8 million euros, the new link will strengthen the security of supply for the island of Formentera, currently linked to Ibiza by a 30 kV double-circuit electricity link. It will also enable the island of Formentera's electricity demand to be supplied in a stable and secure manner at all times and will enable the island and the Balearic Islands' electricity system as a whole to take huge strides forward in the energy transition.

With the aim of speeding up the deployment of this strategic infrastructure as much as possible, the Company has already signed, with the Prysmian Group, the contract for the manufacture and installation of the cables for the two circuits which the interconnection will be comprised of. Red Eléctrica has also began the construction works for the new Formentera substation as well as the enlargement works for the Torrent substation on Ibiza; said substations will be located at both ends of the future link.  

Prysmian will also be responsible for the future laying of the underwater section of the link by means of its specialised cable-laying vessels. This business group has many years’ experience in the laying of submarine power cables, having been responsible, in the case of the Balearic Islands, for laying one of the cable circuits of the active Ibiza-Majorca link and the two circuits of the Majorca-Spanish Peninsula link.

A 37-kilometre cable route
The new electricity interconnection project between Ibiza and Formentera includes the deployment of two 132 kV links between the new substation, under construction, in Formentera and the existing Torrent substation in Ibiza, which is in the process of being enlarged. The interconnection has an underwater section of 27.15 km and will run at a maximum depth of 62 metres, while the land section is 5.26 km in Ibiza and 4.8 km in Formentera. In both cases, the route is underground and runs almost entirely through publicly owned areas alongside existing roads, highways and public roads.

Commencement of works for the new Formentera substation and for the enlargement of the Torrent substation

Simultaneously, Red Eléctrica is currently carrying out the works for the enlargement of the existing 132 kV substation (equipped with GIS technology located inside a building), in Torrent, Ibiza. The enlargement works, which began last April, will provide the connection point on Ibiza for the future Ibiza-Formentera link and will improve the security of the electricity transmission grid on Ibiza.

On Formentera, at the other end of the cable landing point, work began in May on the construction of a new 132 kV substation in the industrial estate of Ca Marí. Preliminary earthmoving works are currently underway for a substation which, like Torrent, will be equipped with GIS technology located inside a building. This new substation will have a height that will not exceed that of existing facilities, will have visual screening and acoustic sound barriers as well as measures to blend it into the landscape, in accordance with Formentera’s Spatial Planning and Development Plan. Landscaping adapted to the environment will also be conducted and restoration works will be carried out for heritage elements, such as dry-stone walling.

Both the new substation in Formentera and the enlargement works for the Torrent substation have been granted a favourable Environmental Impact Statement and have the Prior Administrative Approval as well as the Administrative Permits for Construction Works and, furthermore, both have received the Declaration of Public Utility, which is within the competence of the regional government of the Balearic Islands.