Benidorm aspires to attract Next Generation funds to improve the efficiency and accessibility of Palau d'Esports

The Benidorm City Council aspires to attract Next Generation European funds to improve the energy efficiency and accessibility of the Palau d'Esports l'Illa. For this, it has been requested to participate in the Program to promote the rehabilitation of public buildings included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) and endowed with 600 million euros.

The mayor, Toni Pérez, explained that "the project proposed by the City Council amounts to 3.6 million euros and includes actions to improve efficiency, environmental sustainability, habitability and accessibility." With the bases of the call in hand, "we could opt for a subsidy of 2.8 million, with the City Council having to contribute just over 770,000 euros, corresponding to the non-subsidised percentage and VAT on the works."

Toni Pérez has detailed that "the section to which more funds are allocated is energy efficiency, to drastically reduce consumption and dependence on electrical energy". "Since the construction of Palau to date -he indicated-, technology and renewable energy production systems have evolved by leaps and bounds and it is time to update and adapt the Palau d'Esports facilities to reality to be more sustainable and more efficient.

Thus, it is contemplated to place photovoltaic panels on the roof of the 'carrer de pilota' and also in the main building of Palau, complementing those planned in the project subsidized by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE). "It is estimated that these solar panels will cover 70% of Palau's current electricity consumption, so the percentage of self-sufficiency will be very high," he pointed out.

In addition, "thermal-solar panels will be installed on the roof of the gym, which will generate hot water for the changing rooms and heat the pool facilities." As recalled by the mayor, "initially Palau had a solar thermal capture system but it became obsolete a long time ago and that is why it has been decided to renew it and to install it in a much more suitable point, very close to the dependencies to those who are going to serve”. The project also plans to complete the transition of all the lighting in the enclosure to 'led' technology, "achieving savings of approximately 40%".

Currently, 60% of the lighting has been renewed with 'LED', so the action would be limited to the remaining percentage.

Another of the planned actions is the installation of "a remotely managed and automated air quality system, which combines natural cross ventilation with forced ventilation." In this way, "depending on the temperature, CO2 levels or humidity at any time, the roof slats will automatically open or close to always guarantee maximum comfort and air quality standards".

Likewise, it is proposed to improve and generate more accesses and emergency exits, the creation of stairs to facilitate access and maintenance of the solar panels, and the rehabilitation of some construction elements that are deteriorated.

According to the bases of the call, in case the Benidorm proposal is selected, the works must be completed before March 31, 2026.

The mayor recalled that "this is not the only call for aid promoted with Next Generation funds to which the City Council has opted, which since the arrival of these resources from the European Union and distributed by the Government of Spain has been announced. attended all possible programs to access the distribution of this financing. Thus, and as was announced at the beginning of the year, the City Council has already presented the 'Benidorm Vision 360' project, valued at almost 8 million euros and with twenty actions, to a new call for Tourism Sustainability Plans; after having received funding for the 'Benidorm DTI + Seguro Sustainability Plan' amounting to 2.9 million euros.

Also within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, the City Council has obtained a grant of 3,181,000 euros for the implementation of the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE) and the digital and sustainable transformation of urban transport, granted by the Ministry Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda.

In addition, last week the Local Government Board approved requesting 2,850,000 euros of Next Generation funds for the implementation of new separate collections, especially bio-waste, and improvement of existing ones.