Eco friendly turbine boosts electricity

THE electricity company Gesaendesa has brought into service the first turbine engine as part of a second power cycle at Son Reus, which is also the site of the Island's rubbish incinerator. A communiqué released yesterday reported that the new turbine, powered at 70 megawatts, will contribute to a total generation of 218 megawatts, representing a 34 per cent increase in power output in Majorca and Minorca's energy system. By the time the year 2005 is underway, the power company will have invested a total of 410 million euros in the installations at Son Reus.
With the recent increase in demand for power across the Majorca and Minorca grids heightened by the June heatwave, the inauguration of this extra turbine will allow the system to cope “more easily” with the rise in demand. The power generation machinery at Son Reus is a pioneering system in the Balearic Islands. It boasts a lower negative impact on the environment by allowing greater diversification in the use of fossil fuels, reducing the consumption of non-renewable resources and minimising the emission of gases that add to the “greenhouse effect”.