Denounce soundings of the Alcudia electric cable without final authorization
The Anaca association denounces that Red Eléctrica promotes preparatory works without the endorsement of the Council of Ministers and with the project still undergoing environmental assessment, while concern grows about the impact on properties and protected areas.
PalmaThe announcement of the imminent start of geological surveys related to the project for the second electricity cable between the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands (Penbal-2) has once again ignited controversy in Alcúdia. The Association for a New Agreement of the Alcúdia Cable (Anaca) has denounced that the preliminary work planned on several properties in the municipality is being pushed forward without the project yet having the definitive authorization from the Council of Ministers, a fact they consider particularly serious given that the infrastructure is still pending environmental and administrative procedures.
According to the entity's report, the company 4 Punto Sertec, subcontracted by Red Eléctrica de España (REE), has contacted several affected landowners to inform them that the surveys will begin next Monday. These are boreholes up to 25 meters deep at various points along the planned terrestrial route for the cable.
The controversy lies not only in the advancement of the work, but also in how the relationship with the owners has been managed. According to Anaca, when one of the affected parties requested the documentation that should legally cover access to their property, the company's response was that it would be provided at the time of starting the tasks. For the association, this procedure violates the rights of the owners and inverts the logical order of administrative guarantees. "First, permission is requested and the action is legally justified; then, if applicable, the work is carried out," summarize sources from the entity, who interpret this way of proceeding as pressure on citizens who question the project.
The complaint comes at a particularly sensitive time for the future of Penbal-2. The project is still undergoing environmental assessment before the Ministry for Ecological Transition and has not yet received definitive green light. Furthermore, part of the planned route in Mallorca affects the surroundings of the Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) of Maristany, integrated into the Natura 2000 network, an area on which the Balearic Government has imposed conditions that have not yet been resolved.
The situation raises doubts as to the extent to which it is appropriate to advance field actions when essential aspects of the administrative procedure have not yet been resolved. Precisely this is one of the arguments that have fueled local opposition to the project in recent months.
On June 4, the plenary session of the Alcúdia City Council unanimously approved a motion in which it called on the Spanish government not to adopt any definitive decision on the route until the marine bionomic cartography is updated, a tool considered key to adequately assessing the environmental impact of the infrastructure.
Faced with this scenario, Anaca has recommended to the affected owners that they do not authorize access to the properties without first receiving all the relevant legal documentation and has announced that it is studying possible administrative and judicial actions.
Beyond the specific dispute over the surveys, the case once again highlights the tensions surrounding large energy projects in the Balearic Islands, especially when actions on the ground advance at a pace that, according to opponents, is not always accompanied by the required authorizations and guarantees.