Es Murterar - Should We Be Concerned?

Madrid has blocked the regional government's plan for the progressive closure of the Es Murterar power station in Alcudia. The national energy ministry has justified this on cost grounds. The regional government is furious. Més, good eco-nationalists as they are, will be proposing to the Balearic parliament that a defence is made of the islands' energy sovereignty.

The discussion about the closure of Es Murterar, far from reaching a conclusion, has therefore only really begun. Meanwhile, the government's plans for renewable energy (exclusively of a solar variety) and for zero emissions by 2050 are thrown into confusion. The regional energy minister, Marc Pons, says that photovoltaic projects will still go ahead. Even Madrid, with some 60 million euros plus European funds at its disposal, appears well disposed to using part of this cash for Balearic renewables. More confusion, or so it may seem.

Against this background, we now have a report from the International Institute of Law and Environment. This maintains that contamination from Es Murterar is responsible for 54 premature deaths per year. Almost 70% of carbon dioxide emissions from electricity production are said to come from Es Murterar. In addition, there are high levels of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. It doesn't sound too clever, does it.

If we take the institute's report at its word, then there is good reason to be concerned, not least for those of us for whom the chimney of Es Murterar is a constant and ominous presence in the near distance. Without access to the science that has gone into the report and indeed without the knowledge of the science, it is impossible to dispute or verify the institute's findings. But the institute seems convinced, so who are you or I to suggest that it is wrong?

Endesa, it is understood, will be forking out some 100 million euros on limiting the emissions. It will do so in order to comply with European regulations for emission reduction by 2020, the same year that the government wanted to close two of the four production groups. The institute reckons that this investment makes no sense. What does make sense, in its view, are the shutting-down of groups that are over 35 years old and the gradual elimination of coal.

The cost arguments have taken over from the mere environmental or health ones. But it now seems that it is high time for all of these arguments to be presented to the public in a meaningful and transparent fashion. While some will be alarmed at the news of those premature deaths, there will be others who simply fail to comprehend why there should be any further delay in moving full steam (so to speak) ahead with the introduction of solar energy. It seems such an obvious step to take, so why isn't being done? And just what are Madrid's cost justifications for holding back on the closure of Es Murterar?

This latter question is easy to answer. Coal-fired power stations such as Es Murterar are cheap. Renewable electricity generation is not. Electricity from wind farms, it is said, costs twice as much as that from traditional sources like coal. Solar is even more expensive. Or this is the conventional wisdom at any rate. But solar technology is constantly advancing. It is in the interests of societies that it does, except for those wedded to old industries and unpersuaded as to climate change or even to public health. With the advances, so electricity generation from solar becomes cheaper. It is this type of equation that the public should be informed about. We should have the evidence presented, not in a partisan way as one would get from Més, for instance, but in an independent way.

It is a complex subject. No-brainer it may seem to have solar in Mallorca, but there is obviously more to it, and this includes the need for back-up. If the sun doesn't shine for a protracted period, then what? It's just like solar panels for houses. A conventional reserve is still needed. Or other forms of renewable energy are needed. The Balearic government doesn't envisage there being other forms. It's solar and only solar.

For people in Alcudia (and Sa Pobla and Muro), this whole subject needs to be elevated to the highest level of priority. People in the vicinity of Es Murterar live with the power station. An issue is whether they die with it as well.

Will Es Murterar Become Another Power Station Ruin?

There is a sight which is distinctly incongruous when one is walking in the Albufera Nature Park. Look in one direction and looming above the vegetation is the chimney of Es Murterar: the power station abuts one edge of the nature park.

It has been there for forty years, an ominous presence looming over the tranquility and environmental sensitivity of Albufera. Once upon a time the coal trucks went through Puerto Alcudia in order to deliver their loads. Since the Bellevue bypass was built, the trucks have been in convoy passing at the foot of the Puig de Sant Marti. I've not personally noticed but I am told that coal dust flies and settles. Even covered, the trucks can allow particles to escape.

And for all these years there has been the Es Murterar roar. At times there can seem to be no rhyme nor reason for this bellowing. Guests at the Lagotel in Las Gaviotas are among those who have noticed it and have therefore complained about it.

There is something else which is incongruous: Balearic energy policy. A region blessed with ample sunlight (as well as other potential sources of renewable energy) can manage a mere two per cent of electricity production from renewables. There are parts of Spain where it is one hundred per cent.

The Balearic government, which has for so long spoken about renewables, now has a clear plan. In the fight against climate change there will be zero emissions by 2050. One trusts that this won't be too late. Much earlier than this - by 2020 - two pollutant groups at Es Murterar will be shut down; basically, this means that half the production lines will disappear within three years. The previous government, that of José Ramón Bauzá, had targeted 20% renewable production by 2020, a goal in line with EU ambitions. Good words and of course nothing happened. It was always possible to hide behind the shield of austerity and economic crisis. Alternative energy costs money and requires investment.

There is also a cost involved with the progressive closure of Es Murterar. The regional government is attempting to calculate it. If the costs are reasonable, says Balearic energy minister Marc Pons, then the national energy ministry will look upon the plan favourably.

A further cost is the one that affects the workforce. The government says that there will be job relocation. It has in mind the photovoltaic plants either planned or under way. One of these is by Es Murterar; others are in Manacor, Llucmajor and Ciutadella in Menorca. The workers don't believe the government. They reckon that there is little realistic chance of relocation. They want a slower process. They accept that coal cannot simply carry on, but the government's timeline is, in the word of the workers, "precipitous". They believe that the plan for Es Murterar is being designed with elections in mind. These elections are less than two years away.

Up to 800 jobs, both direct and indirect, could be affected. One also has to wonder about the impact on the port. Salvem el Moll, which has been agitating about the coal shipments (considering them to be not entirely legal), will doubtless be delighted, but the eventual loss of coal will be bound to have an impact on the port's commercial operations. There again, it is surely a price that not only has to be paid but should be paid. The economics of energy transition can never be wholly benign for all business or indeed all jobs.

Endesa agrees with the workers. The plan is too hasty. As a company it anticipates an end to its coal plants by 2035. It has an alternative - an investment scheme to modify the most polluting groups. The current politics of renewable energy will probably scupper this.

And eventually, what will become of Es Murterar? The roar will be quietened. It will fall silent. No more will the coal trucks rumble along the bypass, inadvertently releasing particles. Es Murterar will then sit there, like Alcanada has ever since Es Murterar was commissioned. Will they be arguing over its future at the end of this century?