Only 2.2% of Menorca's electrical energy consumption last year came from renewable sources. The wind farm at Milà generated 1% (5.5 Gwh/year), and the photovoltaic (solar) plants at Son Salomó (Ciutadella) and Binissafúller (Sant Lluís) provided 0.9% (4.7 Gwh/year) and 0.3% (1.4 Gwh/year) respectively.
The figures are far from the objective set by the European Union for the year 2020 which is that 40% of electrical production should be from renewable sources, whereas Menorca's dependence on fossil fuels last year was 98%.
Despite major investment in alternative sources, it was ENDESA's power centre in the port of Maó, which uses fuel oil and diesel, that experienced the biggest growth in generating capacity. This produced 83.2% of the energy consumed on the island last year, equivalent to 442 gigawatts per hour per year. The remaining 14.6% of 2009's consumption was imported from Mallorca via an undersea cable.
On the positive side, Milà's energy output avoided the emission into the atmosphere of 5,047 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), 38 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 70 of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and 406 tons of dross and ash.
However, the wind farm experienced 102 incidents last year which translated into 453 hours of production lost, or 299,978 kilowatt hours. Had the plant been fully functional it would have provided 6% more energy. The majority of the incidents (93 of the 102) were due to external causes, that is, they originated in the distribution grid to which the plant is connected.
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