Pylon of the Month

October's Pylon of the Month was meant to make an appearance in September as an addition to the occasional series of 'What I did on holidays' pylons. It can still do that, but is also part of the rather more regular 'better late than never' series. The picture was taken on the outskirts of Ciutadella on the beautiful island of Menorca in late August. Having spent time on the beach, a rainy day proved to be the perfect opportunity to visit Lithica, a disused quarry that has been converted into a magical place. On the walk to the quarry, the appearance of a substation was an added bonus and I couldn't resist a photo with the pylon, for once, being upstaged by some serious electrical infrastructure. What caught my eye as much as anything was the rather striking blue glass insulator discs that you can just about make out in places. Anyway, back to Menorca which only has one traditional 245 MW power station near the capital Mahon. According to a recently published report, 97% of Menorca’s electricity demand in 2018 stemmed from the combustion of fuel oil and diesel at this power plant, while the contribution of renewable energy to the electric power system was 3%. The Menorca 2030 Strategy for decarbonising the island's energy system aims to do something about this by "placing Menorca at the forefront of clean energy usage and serving as a benchmark for other territories of the European Union". We had such a great time on the island that I might well go back annually to keep an eye on how the project is progressing. That's all for this month and I'm already working on November's pylon so hopefully, it won't be late!