For a long time I had heard about the greatness of Menorca: its Mediterranean landscapes, its beaches, its gastronomy... a whole ensemble sustained by people who love their traditions and are aware of the bequest they treasure. But it was not until 2016 that I visited Menorca for the first time, and I have repeated. And I have repeated. The reality has exceeded all my expectations. I feel overwhelmed by all that the island holds as a refuge of Mediterranean tradition, a crossroads of cultures and a treasure trove of Nature.

As the reader can see, I am not goal: I love Menorca. I believe it is an extraordinary human and natural ecosystem that must be protected, pampered and explained to future generations.

But precisely because I love it, because I want it to do well, these visits have allowed me to get to know its weaknesses better, those things that in my humble opinion should be implemented over time. And it is clear that the tourism industry, which generates so much wealth, is also its biggest problem. Although this would be a reflection for another day...

Now I would like to focus on what I have seen from my professional and academic research experience of twenty years on issues such as transport, the management of urban waste or the management of water. And from all of this, today, I would like to think aloud about the management of energy, as a few days ago I read in this same newspaper that plans were being made to increase the amount of photovoltaic energy installed on the island.

I think it is at the very least a debatable measure. It goes without saying that those responsible for this decision will handle data that I am unaware of, so perhaps my argument is mistaken. But I also believe that this subject of disquisitions, as long as they are propositive, are healthy in the discussion between technicians and enriching for the citizens.

Anyone who knows the island, who has walked around it, who has observed it from the reflection, who has felt it, who has talked to the farmers... will know the importance of the wind, or will have seen how farmers install small turbines to cover their needs. The wind, discontinuous but effective, carries dust and sand in suspension, which are deposited on surfaces, including those of the photovoltaic panels, which, when they are covered, even partially, suffer a significant drop in performance, unless they are cleaned, with the result that maintenance costs grow exponentially and can become a major hindrance for the future.

That is why I intend to stress (I am sure I am not the first among the readers of these lines) the importance of Menorca's commitment (also) to wind power as a source of energy in the future. This argument should not be understood as a condemnation of photovoltaic, as it is a generation subject that I myself have prescribed in different architectural projects, as it really works well, but as a constructive discussion to plan the generation of energy for Menorca in the coming years.

I understand that for many people wind energy represents an aggression for the landscape but, firstly, it is no less so than the dozens of photovoltaic plants that could be installed on the island; secondly, like everything else, it depends on where and how it is installed.

Menorca can be explored with different excuses, visiting its lighthouses, its cheese factories, its sky free of light pollution... why not also visit its wind farms to better understand the generation of renewable electrical energy that an island requires?