Controversy over the new submarine cable: Red Eléctrica denies accusations of outdated mapping

PalmRed Eléctrica has denied that the project for the second electrical link between the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, known as Penbal 2, is based on "obsolete cartography," as denounced by the Association for a New Agreement for the Alcudia Cable (ANACA). The company maintains that the studies on the seabed and route alternatives were carried out using its own updated data, the result of specific marine surveys conducted between 2020 and 2021. According to the company, responsible for energy transmission within the Redeia group, the project and its environmental impact study will allow for the definition of a new land-based route. Red Eléctrica states that it will respond promptly and appropriately to all objections submitted and that it will implement the final project authorized by the relevant authorities.

The response comes after the New Agreement for the Alcudia Cable Association (ANACA) warned that the new addendum to the environmental impact study "exacerbates the technical and environmental errors" of the project by maintaining the cable landing in the Bay of Pollença and, according to the group, relying on outdated data from the LI2 project. The cost increase is over 40%, rising from €476.5 million to €675.8 million, and the current route "forces crossing natural areas and inhabited properties." In contrast, Red Eléctrica emphasizes that the project is based on the analysis of 14 alternative marine routes in Mallorca and that the proposed landing site in La Herradura has the least impact on Posidonia seagrass, a habitat protected by European regulations. The data used, according to the company, comes from its own bathymetry, morphology, seismic, magnetometry, and environmental and archaeological studies, representing an investment of over 10 million euros. Regarding the criticism of a possible location in the Bay of Alcúdia, Red Eléctrica explains that the alleged sandy stretches identified by ANACA coincide with paleochannels or areas of sediment mobility that are "not technically safe" for laying the cables. It adds that this morphology would prevent guaranteeing the protection and proper burial of the infrastructure.

Regarding the budget increase, the company attributes it to the current market situation, "notablely tight," and not to the route change, assuring that the project will result in annual savings of €363 million for the entire electricity system. ANACA sources, however, insist that the project is "environmentally and territorially unfeasible" and will entail an irreversible loss of land and landscape in the municipality of Alcúdia. The group, which points out that the project was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on October 27, has announced that it will continue advising residents and organizations on how to submit objections during the public consultation period.