The Repsol Butano substation in Maó has had a fixed tank for just over three years. This can store 20 tonnes of LPG, a fuel that, according to the Spanish energy company, “is making its way in Europe as an alternative to high cost of electric cars.”

In 2013, the Repsol began the systematic transfer of Autogas to Menorca by means of a tanker truck that unloaded it directly at the two service stations that supply it, one in Maó and the other in Ciutadella. However, the increase in demand meant that, at the end of 2018, the company began the process to obtain the permits to install a tank for this fuel in the Maó substation.

The favourable resolution would arrive the following year, but the pandemic slowed down the entire process that culminated last December with the approval by the Government Council of the special external emergency plan that is required when having an installation of these characteristics.

Company sources indicated that some 250 Autogas vehicles circulate daily in Menorca during summer season. Leasing cars are the ones that install the LPG bi-fuel system the most, followed by taxis and vehicles used by driving schools, although it is also frequent in industrial machinery vehicles.

Source: Menorca

Photo: Repsol

15 February 2023