Red Eléctrica, Redeia's subsidiary company responsible for the transmission and operation of the national electricity system, today submitted the energy, technical and environmental aspects of the project to the pertinent local administrations. The project entails the installation of an energy storage battery in Es Mercadal that will be a fully integrated element in the transmission grid of Menorca and has been presented prior to the commencement of its regulated permitting process that will start at the beginning of 2023.

The meeting was attended by Eduardo Maynau, Redeia’s Regional Delegate in the Balearic Islands; Juan Carlos Sánchez, Project Manager; Marc Pons, Commissioner for the Promotion of Sustainable Energy in Island Systems; Susana Mora, President of the Island Council of Menorca; Josep Malagrava, Director General for Energy for the Balearic Islands’ Regional Ministry on Energy Transition, Productive Sectors and Democratic Memory, and Francesc Ametller, Mayor of the city of Es Mercadal. All participants agreed on the importance of the new infrastructure as a tool that will contribute to energy security and the energy transition of Menorca.

The energy storage battery project in Menorca is included in the current 2021-2026 Electricity Transmission Grid Planning, which foresees the most significant investment by the Spanish government in the Balearic Islands, a total of €1,169 million, highlighting, in addition to the battery, the reinforcement of the submarine electricity connection with the Peninsula, a key infrastructure for the energy transition of the whole of the archipelago.

The battery will represent a new transmission asset resource that will help strengthen the guarantee of the electricity supply on the island of Menorca and will enable progress to be made in the island's energy transition.

From the electricity supply guarantee perspective, the battery's capacity will enable the system's stability to be maintained in the event of an unexpected loss in the connection of the Majorca-Menorca electricity link.

As a key infrastructure for the island's energy transition, the battery will help maximise the contribution of the current link to Majorca, more than doubling it, which in turn will result in associated benefits in terms of reducing the operation of local generation using fossil fuels, costs to the system and CO2 emissions on the island of Menorca.

The investment earmarked for the Menorca battery project is around €50 million and the battery will be installed next to the existing 132 kV Es Mercadal electricity substation as a strategic point from an energy point of view on the island (east-west electricity flows). It will have a power capacity of 50 MW (2x25 MW) and an energy storage capacity of 37.5 MWh (2x18.75 MWh).

The battery is expected to be commissioned within the binding horizon of the 2021-2026 Electricity Transmission Grid Planning.

Given the importance of the facility for the guarantee of supply and the energy transition, Red Eléctrica will request that the project and associated investment be declared of regional interest. The Company is currently finalising the details of the project with a view to submitting it for the corresponding permitting processing at the beginning of 2023.