The Balearic Government is proposing a moratorium on new renewable energy projects on rural land in Mallorca and the Balearics. An amendment will be made to the law on strategic projects that will suspend current regulations until a new and specific plan is approved for the energy sector.
As solar is overwhelmingly the main source of renewable energy in the islands, this suspension will chiefly apply to photovoltaic plants. The amendment also has in mind energy storage systems, plans for which have created a good deal of controversy.
The plants themselves have run up against local and environmentalist opposition, the government appreciating that there has been social conflict. It is therefore looking to regulate the growth of renewable energy facilities. These have proliferated in rural areas and on rustic land by urban centres; there is one such case in Sa Pobla, for instance. The hope is that a more "consensual" model can be arrived at.
The government is to give itself a maximum of two years to approve a new territorial plan for renewable energies and energy storage. This must establish clear criteria regarding location and dimensions of facilities in seeking a reconciliation between the need for energy transition and the protection of rural land.