I wonder if you sometimes are curious about where all the energy comes from that is being consumed here in Mallorca in an ever-increasing rate of mega watts. Yes, you flip the light switch or press a button, but where does the juice actually come from?

The Central Térmica Alcúdia (the old Alcúdia Power Station) near the port of Alcúdia was Mallorca’s main power station from the Sixties to the late Nineties when it was replaced by another plant, called Es Murterar, also in the area of Alcúdia, near the lagoon. The old Alcúdia Power Station was built under Franco in 1957. Electrical energy was produced by way of coal firing, hence its position near the coast. Coal was transported from the Spanish mainland to the Port d’Alcúdia by ship, and still is. The new Es Murterar power plant is also fed with coal.

Currently, there are four thermal power plants on Mallorca, Es Murterar, Son Reus, Cas Tresorer and Son Molinos. Since last year, there is also a connection to the mainland by under-water cable.

Nowadays, the old Alcúdia Power Station is a bit of an eye-sore, especially as it is situated in a rather popular tourist area. A few years ago, a competition was held, designs were drawn up and a winning entry was selected. Plans were approved to convert this power plant into an industrial museum. Of course, there is no money available now for any such fancy plans. I hope the architects, Alonso Hernández y Asociados from Pamplona, got paid for their winning entry (photo bottom).

The photos were borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of diariodemallorca.es and Comunicació Endesa (top) and ahasociados.com (bottom).

Muchas gracias.