Encamp Approves €2.32M for Solar Panels, Efficiency Upgrades and Public Spaces

Encamp's communal council has approved investments exceeding €2 million to modernise public facilities, boost energy efficiency and enhance citizen services.

The package, approved during Thursday's council session, covers nearly €2.32 million across key projects. A standout initiative allocates around €800,000 for installing 667 photovoltaic panels and 120 thermal panels on the roofs of the Centre Esportiu i Sociocultural d'Encamp (CESE) and the Escola Bressol. Works are set to start in July and finish by December, generating an estimated 394,320 kWh annually. This will meet about 35% of the CESE's current electricity needs and 35-40% of its hot water demand, cutting annual electricity costs by €65,000, thermal energy expenses by €35,000 and diesel use by 32,000 litres—total savings of roughly €100,000 per year.

Cònsol Major Laura Mas described the solar project as a "firm step" in the parish's ongoing energy strategy, aligning with renewable energy laws and allowing public bodies to lead by example. She noted the investment would pay for itself in eight years, reducing reliance on external energy sources for one of the council's costliest facilities. Cònsol Menor Xavier Fernàndez highlighted the financial and environmental gains.

Additional funding renews climate control systems in the Casa Comuna (€782,807) and CESE (€519,847), both over 30 years old. These multi-year upgrades, starting with the Casa Comuna's ground and first floors plus eighth-floor equipment this June, will zone heating and cooling for better efficiency and user comfort. Consellera Sabrina Grégoire Torres said the moves support Andorra's energy transition law, promising lower costs, reduced foreign dependence and improved public services.

The council also greenlit a €222,709 overhaul of the Casa Comuna's ground floor lobby, branded "Un refugi per a tothom". Starting this June and ending in December, the phased works—awarded to Sideco—will create multifunctional spaces, a new exhibition hall, conference areas and "proximity islands" for citizen services, drawing on local motifs like orris flowers, dry-stone walls and communal fires. Services will remain operational throughout.

Opposition councillor Marta Pujol backed the energy investments as reasonable steps towards sustainability.

In parallel, the council adopted new protocols on workplace and sexual harassment—previously absent—to protect staff and foster respectful environments. Aligned with the parish's equality plan, they introduce internal detection via a dedicated app, two referents (the HR director and a social worker) and external handling of formal complaints for neutrality. Consellera Sílvia Ramond stressed a "zero tolerance" policy to uphold dignity and equality.