The Minister with responsibility for the Gibraltar Electricity Authority, the Hon Gemma Arias- Vasquez has welcomed the statement issued by the Environmental Safety Group this afternoon in relation to the removal of the temporary generators from the North Mole Power Station site.

Minister Arias-Vasquez said the ESG’s statement rightly recognises the significance of this milestone for Gibraltar, particularly for residents in the area and for Gibraltar’s wider environmental objectives.

The temporary generators were required to provide additional resilience while the Battery Energy Storage System was brought into full operation. Now that the BESS is operational, Gibraltar is able to reduce its reliance on diesel-fired temporary generation and remove infrastructure which, while necessary at the time, was always intended to be temporary.

Minister Arias-Vasquez said:

“I welcome the statement issued by the ESG and I am grateful for their recognition of the importance of this. The removal of the temporary generators at the North Mole is good news for residents, good news for our environment and good news for Gibraltar.

“These generators served an important resilience purpose, but they were never intended to be a permanent feature of our energy infrastructure. I was very keen to see them gone when I took over this portfolio in October 2023. Their removal has been made possible by the successful commissioning of the Battery Energy Storage System, which strengthens the stability of our electricity network and reduces the need to rely on diesel-fired temporary generation.

“I also want to thank, once again, the Gibraltar Electricity Authority and all those involved in bringing the BESS into operation and making the removal of these generators possible.”