The Ministry authorizes the definitive closure of the Alcúdia coal mine

The Minister of Business, Freelancers and Energy has authorized Gas y Electricidad Generación, SAU for the definitive closure of coal generating units 3 and 4 of the Alcúdia thermal power plant, in es Murterar, and for the definitive removal from the administrative register of electricity production installations. The resolution, with document number 10776 and file Exp. 2026/7486, is published in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB) no. 138, of October 29, 2026, in Section III, and bears the electronic signature date of October 23, 2026. The document is signed by Diego Viu Domínguez, Director General of Circular Economy, Energy Transition and Climate Change, by delegation of the minister.

The two affected groups are two coal thermal units of 120.6 MW nominal power each, registered under the keys RO1-1066 and RO1-1067. The plant is thus left without its coal generation, but maintains the gas turbines TG1 and TG2, of 32.7 MW each, which the owner expressly excluded from the request.

A closure in two phases

The procedure began on February 26, 2026, when Gas y Electricidad Generación, SAU requested the closure of the four groups that remained operational in Alcúdia. The initial request included the two coal groups and the two gas oil turbines.

The change in direction came with the report from Red Eléctrica de España (REE) on May 8, 2026, which advised against the complete closure of the facility. The system operator concluded that the total unavailability of Alcúdia’s power could cause inadmissible overloads in the northern Mallorca network and increase the risk of coverage deficit, and recommended maintaining at least the equivalent of the two gas turbines.

• On March 20, 2026, the prior report was requested from the system operator, in accordance with article 53.5 of Law 24/2013.
• On July 7, 2026, the owner excluded turbines TG1 and TG2 from the request and limited the petition to the coal groups.
• On October 22, 2026, a new request for definitive closure was submitted, circumscribed to groups 3 and 4.

The ruling that overturned the emission limits

The determining basis is judicial. Ruling 539/2024, of November 20, 2024, from the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands, annulled the agreement of the Plenary of the Environmental Commission of the Balearic Islands of May 31, 2021, which had revised the Integrated Environmental Authorization of the plant.

The sentence became final after the First Section of the Contentious Chamber of the Supreme Court, by order of December 18, 2025, in cassation appeal 3893/2025, dismissed the appeal of Gas y Electricidad Generación, SAU. Technicians from the Directorate General for Circular Economy, Energy Transition and Climate Change conclude that the new emission limit values are technically impossible to achieve for steam groups 3 and 4, given the initial construction characteristics and the absence of environmental investments.

Sectoral reports and decommissioning conditions

During the processing, reports were collected from Enagás GTS, which concluded that the closure does not structurally modify the risk profile of the Balearic gas system, and from Redexis Infraestructuras, SL. The Alcúdia City Council reported on July 13, 2026, and conditioned its opinion on two points:

• Maintaining the operability of the plant’s outfalls to the sea to justify joint discharge with Aigües Canalitzades d’Alcúdia, SA.
• Ensuring the non-dissolution of the Board of Users of the es Murterar Submarine Outfall until the water supply is resolved.

The resolution obliges the holder to present the Decommissioning Plan, including demolition and closure, within a maximum period of one year from the signing, and sets October 1, 2031, as the maximum deadline for decommissioning, without prejudice to the environmental body establishing another. It also orders the notification of the decision to REE, to the Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines of MITECO to cancel the registry entry, to the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), to the Alcúdia City Council, and to the Directorate General for Urban Harmonization and Environmental Assessment, and its publication in the BOE and BOIB. Against the resolution, which exhausts the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month or a contentious-administrative appeal within two months.

Effect on the electrical system

The decision complies with the fourth additional provision of Law 10/2019, of February 22, on climate change and energy transition, which foresaw the cessation of Alcúdia groups 3 and 4 in 2025 provided that the supply remained guaranteed. The latest report from the Director of Operation Programming of Red Eléctrica, dated October 1, 2026 (DGO/DPO_26_1423), indicates that the limits of energy not served are met with the units installed in the Balearic Islands.

With this resolution, Mallorca closes one of its two coal units and leaves behind more than four decades of generation with this fuel at es Murterar. The measure consolidates the displacement of coal from the Balearic electricity mix, maintains gas turbines as support until the second link with the Peninsula enters service, planned around 2030, and opens a decommissioning schedule that extends until 2031.

Fuente: BOIB, núm. 138 de 29 d’octubre de 2026, Secció III, pàg. 59679 (referència oficial: 10776, Exp. 2026/7486).