Windmills are part of Mallorca's cultural heritage. The blue and white wind blades on sandstone towers greet visitors as soon as they land, and quite a few mills have been lovingly renovated by foreign investors and converted into sought-after residential properties.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, thousands of mills turned in the Mediterranean wind on the island. They pumped water from the ground for agriculture and ground grain. Most windmills can still be found in the flat south, around Campos, Felanitx and Santanyi, and in the windy north.
With technical progress came the end of windmills in Mallorca. Many rotted, collapsed and perhaps still served as chicken coops.
But today green energy is more in demand than ever, whether in Central Europe or in Spain. And what could be more obvious on Mallorca than to bring the traditional windmills back to life. Unlike much-discussed wind farms in Germany, windmills on Mallorca are neither dangerous for birds, nor do they generate noise or disfigure the landscape. On the contrary, they are part of it and every heart beats faster when it discovers a beautifully restored windmill.
Thus, the regional government of Mallorca has now drawn up the ambitious plan "Molins Actius" (literally: Active Mills). Around 100 mills are to be restored and converted to generate electricity. The windmills are to produce green electricity with short distances. In the process, the wind blades of a mill drive a generator that produces energy for around five small homes.
The municipalities of Muro, Sa Pobla, Santa Margalida and Alcúdia are involved in the project - the number of windmills in the four municipalities is estimated at around 3,000.
The first step is to reach an agreement with the owners. They are to agree to use it over a period of 20 years. The energy that is not required for own use will be fed into the grid and used to produce hydrogen.
Until now, the electricity grid on Mallorca has been fed by means of an underwater pipeline from the mainland. Only a few small local electricity providers already do their share and feed solar power into the public grid.
And so, once again, the windmills in Mallorca have a great task ahead of them: to provide for the population and be an advertising medium for the island.
