Mallorca UIB targets €1.2m energy bill saving
Mallorca’s University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) in Palma is targeting an annual cut of almost €1.2 million from its electricity bill. The university starts the 2026-2027 academic year on Monday with about 11,000 undergraduate students, including 3,500 new arrivals. At the same time, it is bringing in an energy self-consumption scheme with a peak installed capacity of 7.5 MW.
The UIB says the system will generate more than 100% of the energy used on campus. It expects to avoid 3,213 tonnes of CO2 each year — the equivalent of the annual CO2 absorption of 160,650 trees.
New degrees and room to rebuild
Students will find two new courses when teaching begins: a joint degree in Mathematics and Physics, and a degree in Marine Sciences. Agrifood Science and Engineering replaces the former Agrifood and Rural Engineering degree.
The UIB is offering 60 undergraduate degrees, including nine joint degrees, alongside 40 official master’s courses, 26 doctoral programmes and 39 university qualifications. The list also includes master’s courses in the study and management of terrestrial ecosystems facing global change, and an Erasmus Mundus course in health promotion and lifelong wellbeing run with Portuguese and Serbian universities.
Architecture and Mechanical Engineering degrees are planned for the following academic year. Work is also continuing on a STEM degree for future teachers and a joint degree in Catalan and English.
Construction of a new Science building is due to begin on campus during this academic year. Once it is finished, the university will be able to empty and fully renovate the oldest part of the Mateu Orfila i Rotger building.
Campus energy network expands
Refurbishment work on the Ramon Llull and Mateu Orfila i Rotger buildings has finished, along with the replacement of indoor and outdoor campus lighting. A fifth-generation high-efficiency thermal plant is also due to provide climate control for campus buildings.
The next step is a virtual power plant, or VPP — a control centre designed to coordinate photovoltaic generation, batteries and the thermal network. The UIB says it designed the project itself and sees it as a model that could be scaled up for technology parks, industrial estates, hotel complexes and small urban centres.
The Balearic Supercomputing and Artificial Intelligence Centre is also starting the year fully operational, with its Talaia supercomputer. A planned link to the Spanish Supercomputing Network is intended to strengthen work requiring advanced computing and artificial intelligence.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com