Renewable energy accounts for less than 8% of total primary energy for electricity use consumed on Menorca. The remaining percentage comes, still today, from highly polluting fossil fuel sources which are unsustainable with the environment and the biosphere preservation. 

 Under this premise, in 2019 the Island Council approved the Menorca 2030 Strategy, a roadmap to decarbonize the island’s energy system towards a model driven by renewable energies with a clear overall objective: to achieve 50% less CO₂ emissions compared to 1990, by 2030.

Within this framework, Aiguasol was entrusted with the development of a tool to analyze the viability of a new collective model of photovoltaic energy production on the island: climate positive communities.

 Our team studied the optimization and use of existing photovoltaic installations in Menorca, through two case studies based on shared self-consumption, i.e. the generation of energy from a photovoltaic installation in public spaces, which generates energy for its participating members.

 The study also contemplates energy synergies between key actors on the island, such as private companies, hotels, schools and citizens. The two cases are as follows:

• Energy community in an urban area in Maó: This study contemplates a model of energy communities based on shared self-consumption. An example would be public buildings located less than 2km from the photovoltaic installation located in a public space provided by the City Council. This installation is based on a photovoltaic “pergola” aimed at providing energy to the shared self-consumption, as well as charging points for electric vehicles. This structure has a potential to generate a total of 315,000 kWh per year, equivalent to the annual energy demand of 90 families.

• Energy community in a tourist area: This study contemplates a mixed model based on shared self-consumption via PPA (or power purchase agreement). An example would be the cession of spaces by hotels or private companies where the photovoltaic installation could be created, and from which different consumers (citizens and/or schools) could benefit through PPA contracts, as established in the legal framework. It is a win-win scenario for everyone, where the company gets an economic compensation in exchange for selling its surplus energy through shared self-consumption.

Thanks to the tool developed, we have been able to analyze the two cases presented, and determine the business models with the highest economic profitability and cost optimization, based on the existing installations.

 In addition, we hope to promote more climate positive communities in public buildings, where citizens are given the opportunity to choose local energy with a lower environmental impact and a greater guarantee of origin, a big step towards the island’s energy transition.