Residents denounce "private interests" in the change in the route of the Alcudia power cable.

PalmThe Association for a New Agreement for the Alcúdia Cable (ANACA) has questioned the transparency of the PENBAL 2 project, promoted by Red Eléctrica de España (REE), and warns of the "suspicious coincidences" that have accompanied successive changes in the route of the high-voltage cable in Alcúdia.

According to the organization, in September 2025, ANACA and the Alcúdia City Council held a meeting in which the Council confirmed that, in October 2024, it had commissioned an independent study to verify the state of the posidonia in the bays of Alcúdia. The objective was to contrast the content of the environmental impact study prepared by REE. A year later, they report, "the document has still not been made public."

What is surprising, according to the association, is that in July 2025, the City Council boasted of a "unanimous agreement" with the rest of the institutions and the REE (Renewable Energy Agency) without having this scientific information, which could have influenced the choice of the cable's entry point.

Another element that raises doubts is the changes in the terrestrial route. According to them, the documentation published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on September 27, 2024, included an initial route that affected properties "linked to relatives of members of the Alcudia City Council." The subsequent agreement of July 17, 2025, they explain, "modified the route and these properties were no longer affected," which, for ANACA, increases suspicions about the lack of objectivity of the process.

The entity has formally requested all documentation and minutes of the working group meetings from both the City Council and the Balearic Government. It has also requested a meeting with REE. However, it laments the "deafening silence" of the institutions and the company in the face of questions that they consider "clear and legitimate."

In parallel, ANACA contextualizes this debate at a time when the State has announced investments worth 58 billion euros through 2030 to strengthen the electricity grid. According to the association, the rush to avoid losing these European funds translates, in the case of Alcudia, into "improvised routes, a lack of rigorous studies, and hasty decisions that ignore more sustainable alternatives."

The organization demands that the City Council present its objections in the next public information process regarding the modification of the project and that it incorporate the independent report on the posidonia, if it is ultimately confirmed. Furthermore, it recalls that, if the option of entering through Pollença Bay ultimately prevails, the City Council is obliged to challenge the project in court, in accordance with its own municipal agreements and the position defended before the High Court.

Finally, ANACA claims that the cable entry through Alcudia Bay is the best technical and environmental alternative, as it "balances the protection of the sea, the health of people, and territorial heritage."

Government Response

For its part, the Government has explained that the process by which the land route of the second link with the Peninsula was defined was agreed upon by all administrations (Alcudia City Council, Government of the Balearic Islands, Ministry for Ecological Transition and Consell de Mallorca), the developer company, and the neighborhood platform. It was a completely transparent process and was guided exclusively by technical criteria.

As explained, work has been carried out for more than a year in a working group in which different options have been analyzed from a territorial, environmental, and regulatory perspective, as well as with the aim of defining an alternative that would be further away from residential areas, as has finally been achieved.

Technical criteria

Technical and environmental criteria have also supported the option of landing the submarine link on land in the Herradura area, after analyzing up to 13 landing options, which is the best both environmentally and technically. This is reflected in the Environmental Impact Study, which analyzes in detail all aspects of each option, including the entry through the Bay of Alcudia.

The Regional Ministry has indicated that it can understand that a project may not please 100% of residents and everyone has the right to defend their positions, but "it cannot accept insinuations of particular interests in the definition of the route, something that is categorically false."

Furthermore, they have noted that with the new public exhibition, the possibility of submitting objections will be reopened, and it is within this framework that all issues considered to justify new changes to the route must be submitted. The competent authority (in this case, the Ministry) will also approve the final project based on strictly technical criteria.

Government sources explain that the second link will provide two interconnections with the Peninsula, covering 65% of demand and reducing local fossil fuel production. This translates into avoiding the emission of 900,000 tons of CO₂ per year.