Secretaries of tourism and environment Alejandra Ferrer and Daisee Aguilera stopped for a visit this morning at Energy Observer, the world's first greenhouse gas emission-free, autonomous, hydrogen-powered vessel, set to anchor the coming days in Formentera waters.
The futuristic, electric-propulsion vessel uses a mix of renewable energies and a system tuned to produce decarbonated hydrogen extracted from sea water. The system, which renders unnecessary the outsized batteries used in normal electric vessels, means a lighter, more efficient watercraft, and special built-in storage equipment makes the sporadic recharges of the past obsolete, both on land and at sea.
Partnership with Save Posidonia Project
During the visit the secretaries saw close-up how the boat works and spoke with the crew about Save Posidonia Project and Formentera's environmental and sustainability strategies.
In the words of the tourism secretary, “we're honoured—not just that the Energy Observer crew has chosen to include Formentera on its route, but to hear them talk about our island as one of the best preserved in the Mediterranean”. Ferrer said it was important to safeguard the island's natural spaces and pointed up 2017's Save Posidonia Project, in particular—“it's the reason behind our partnership with the Energy Observer and what allows us to work with the ship's crew towards life-preserving environmental sustainability in our seas”.
Environment secretary Daisee Aguilera called navigation on the Energy Observer “noiseless” and the vessel's emissions “basically innocuous”. A matchless experience, said Aguilera, “and one we hope will serve as an example for other ships in places like this where marine traffic is heavy and use of harmful fossil fuels is high”.
Raising global awareness
From 2017 to 2022, the Energy Observer's “Odyssey for the Future” will find the crew pulling in at 101 ports at fifty countries around the world as part of an effort to put cutting-edge tech to work in extreme conditions and feel out the planet's energy networks of the future.
The crew imagines the world tour as a showcase for innovation in environmental transition, and, in the case of the ship's travelling exhibit, social media and numerous documentaries, a chance to educate the world about renewable energy, biodiversity, low-impact agriculture, mobility and even the sharing economy.
The Formentera Council's department of the interior is unveiling details of the firefighting brigade's collaboration in a campaign by the Balearic ministry of environment to advance forest-fire prevention and safety measures.
The Formentera Council's department of culture and education announces the upcoming reopening of Sant Francesc's Marià Villangómez library. On Thursday August 23, library staff will resume summer hours.
The Formentera Council's environment department reports that this week, a coalition of environmental advocates and bird-watching enthusiasts called GEN-GOB (Grup d'Estudis de la Natura / Grup Balear d'Ornitologia) has completed the second part of an on-the-ground initiative which received funding from last year's Save Posidonia Project.