Change

the change was 29,000 euros

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Brandon Halstead, a young kitchen assistant at the British pub and restaurant chain Wetherspoon’s, used his employee discount card on a family meal for seven people. The discount was 20% so was saved about 19.17 pounds in the account (about 22 euros at the exchange rate). Without knowing it, the employee had begun his worst work nightmare. Misuse of the discount card. As and how he collected the british newspaper MirrorBrandon Halstead used his employee discount code on a meal with seven people, including himself, during a day off at one of Wetherspoon’s locations. Unknowingly, I was violating the internal policy that limits the discount to groups of four people or less. A detail that Brandon himself admitted he was unaware of when the company began an internal investigation. Although the employee acknowledged his ignorance of the rule and showed his regret, the company accused him of “dishonesty and abuse” of the discount program, and subjected him to a disciplinary hearing. for serious misconduct. This improper use, although not in bad faith, led to a strict disciplinary sanction from the restaurant chain. Undue access put the finishing touch. During the investigation into the use of the discounts, it was discovered that Brandon’s mother had access to the Wetherspoon’s app to organize work schedules and public transport trips for her son, who has a diagnosis of autism. The company interpreted this access as a violation of its data security policy, which further aggravated the sanctions, to the point of affecting Brandon’s salary, in addition to generating what the DailyMail described as “significant stress and anxiety.” Faced with this situation, Brandon put pressure on the employee, aggravated by his autism condition, the young man requested medical leave for mental health reasons derived from the labor conflict. Given the company’s refusal to meet with them to find a solution that would put an end to that tense environmentBrandon’s mother filed a lawsuit arguing that the company failed to make “reasonable accommodations” to address Brandon’s disability. Justice is clear: there was no bad faith. A local employment tribunal rejected the disability harassment claim, but considered disproportionate the application of a “strict zero tolerance policy” to a person with autism “who was unaware of the rule and did not act in bad faith in applying it.” Labor Judge Murdoch noted that “in Brandon’s case there was no dishonesty test. Brandon immediately admitted to violating the discount policy rules because he was unaware of them. A typical characteristic of autism is a strong desire to comply with the rules. “A person without autism could have known the rules of the discount policy and fraudulently violated them, or could have lied when asked whether he had violated them,” Judge Murdoch stressed. Adaptation of your job. Regarding access to schedule data by the mother, the judge criticizes the company for not having minimally adapted the position to Brandon’s needs. “We consider that the application of this standard procedure places Brandon at a substantial disadvantage compared to a person without autism. Therefore, the court ruled that Wetherspoon’s should compensate Brandon £25,412, equivalent to approximately €28,900, for failing to make the necessary adjustments to avoid the situation of stress and anxiety to your employee. For its part, the company refused to offer comments to the Mirrorclaiming that “The individual remains employed by Wetherspoon and we do not comment on employment matters involving current employees. It should be noted that the employees’ harassment complaint was unsuccessful.” In Xataka | 55,245 euros for eating a sandwich and a beer: Mercadona must compensate an employee for unfair dismissal Image | Unsplash (Cova Software)

Bar terraces have been colonizing the squares of Spain for years. Logroño is proving how difficult it is to change it

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The terraces of the hoteliers have become a huge hot potato for town councils. It’s nothing new. Their coexistence with the neighbors, especially in the most touristic neighborhoods and with the greatest concentration of homes (as happens in many historic centers) led years ago to not a few town halls to take action and declare acoustically saturated areas. However cases like the one from Logroño They remember that the terraces continue to be a focus of debate. And above all, it is not always easy to balance the interests of bars and neighbors. There, in fact, they have generated a thorny controversy. Why Logroño? Because your City Council has proposed updating the terrace ordinance. In fact the document will pass today by the local plenary sessionheaded by Mayor Conrado Escobar and where the PP has a majority. The new standard will bring important changes for the sector and comes preceded by an intense debate. However, if there is something that stands out (or not) it is for having managed to be the target of criticism from both the neighbors of the historic center as well as the hoteliers. Both are suspicious of the rule, although for different reasons. What does the ordinance say? The Town Hall defend that “rearranges” the public space and “reduces” the hours and surface of the terraces. To be more precise, the municipal government highlights three points. The first, a significant cut in the hours of these facilities: from Sunday to Thursday their maximum time will be 00:00 and on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of holidays, 1:30 a.m. “One daily opening hour is reduced from Sunday to Wednesday, two on Thursdays and a half on weekends with respect to the current norm,” clarify from the Consistory. And the other two objectives? They go through the “reorganization of public space”, restricting the surface that the terraces can ‘colonize’ to give “priority” to pedestrians and increasing the occupancy rate. Another of the guidelines that will appear in the ordinance has to do with the number of tables and chairs that each premises can install to seek “proportionality between the space occupied and the square meters that businesses have granted in their licenses.” The maximum allowable surface area will also suffer a snip: from 120 to 100 m2. What do hoteliers say? Which is a bad idea. And that will have consequences that go beyond the sector. In statements collected by Europa Press, Hostelería Riojana warns that the ordinance “destroys an essential part of the activity of bars, cafes and restaurants in the city” and warns that the terraces are “a hallmark” of Logroño, one that from now on “will be disproportionately limited and restricted.” “It puts Logroño’s tourism at risk and therefore the viability of the hospitality sector in the city, since part of its income comes from these spaces,” they insist. The hoteliers go further and point out that with the new ordinance the City Council “does not ensure the proper balance” in the coexistence between neighbors and businesses and leaves local hoteliers in a delicate position, “increasing legal uncertainty and encouraging arbitrary decisions.” In summary, the sector considers that the rule represents “a real setback” for tourism and demands that the City Council review it. In fact, in June he submitted more than twenty pages of allegations to the draft, although most of them did not materialize. And the neighbors? They’re not much happier. At least those in the historic center. The association Old Town Lawsuit already has shown his discomfort and they accuse the mayor of showing “feeling” toward “the lobby hotelier”, wasting in the process the opportunity to improve the current rule. “It is a cowardly ordinance, which has nothing to do with the one proposed by the municipal technicians a few months ago and which, in practice, means removing four tables and half an hour less than the one that is especially generous with the hospitality industry and anachronistic regulations of 2012, which had turned Logroño into the paradise of drinking and drunk tourism.” Is there any more lake? Yes. One of the keys to their anger is the differences between the draft standard and the final project. As you remember, the first document advanced the closing on weekends at 1:00 a.m., when the tables should have been cleared. The Government ended up incorporating an amendment that raised the limit at 1:30 a.m. the days of greatest demand, such as Fridays, Saturdays and holidays. Another of the most sensitive changes is related to the authorized size for terraces based on the surface area of ​​the premises. If the useful area was taken as a reference, it would have been transferred to the real area, which includes bathrooms, kitchen or warehouse. The Town Hall itself remember that the preliminary project was approved in February and later went through a phase of allegations before receiving a first approval in May. Does it only happen in Logroño? No. A year ago we told you how Seville wanted to review its ordinance to facilitate coexistence between the terraces of candlelights and the neighbors, which also sparked considerable debate there. Other locations, such as Madrid, Vigo, Barcelona either Malagato name just a handful of examples, have seen firsthand how complicated it is to regulate terraces. In the background is the enormous weight they have in the Spanish sector: a 2021 report published by the Madrid City Council estimated that terraces, “a substantial source of income”, provide between 20 and 25% of business billing. The calculation was made in the middle of a pandemic, but it is still revealing. Images | Logroño City Council and Chris Arnold In Xataka | The hoteliers promised themselves happy with the enormous business of the terraces. Until the new anti-smoking law arrived

a country with octogenarian millionaires and wealth about to change hands

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Forbes Spain has just published your list of the 100 largest fortunes in Spain in 2025. In total, the largest fortunes in the country add up to 258,870 million euros, which is 7% more than the previous year. Beyond the fact that Amancio Ortega repeats for another year as the greatest fortune in Spain, few changes in the names that form itwith respect to other previous lists. However, there is one fact that draws powerful attention: of that total of 258.87 billion euros, 111.2 billion are in the hands of people over 80 years of age. In other words, 42.96% of the great Spanish wealth is concentrated in the hands of octogenarians. Octogenarian fortunes. Forbes data shows a clear pattern: 28 of the 100 largest assets belong to people over 80 years old who together control more than 111 billion euros. If the range is extended to the 70 to 79 age group, the sum of assets increases by 37.2 billion euros, which raises the total wealth in the hands of those over 70 years of age to 148 billion, close to 57% of the total. Spain is, literally, an economy controlled by septuagenarians and octogenarians. This data contrasts with the reality of other countries. For example, in the United States the average age of billionaires is around 65.7 years, according to the report ‘The Wealth Report 2025′ prepared by Knight Frank. In 2014, this average age was 63.3 years. If we focus on the 400 largest fortunes in the US (Forbes 400), the average age rises to 70 years. An aging country in every sense. The case of great fortunes is only a reflection of a broader pattern. According to data According to Eurostat, the average age in Spain is approximately 45.4 years, which places our country among the oldest in the European Union, whose average was 44.7 years in 2024. This demographic structure is also replicated in the business environment. According to data from ‘Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024 Report’the number of entrepreneurs under 35 years of age has decreased by 25% in the last decade, while the average age of IBEX 35 directors and directors exceeds 61.2 years, according to data of the CNMV. Fortunes of the last century. Unlike the United States, where the origin of great fortunes It is linked to technological innovation —Elon Musk with Tesla and SpaceX; Larry Ellison with Oracle; Mark Zuckerberg and Meta or Jeff Bezos with Amazon—the greatest Spanish fortunes come from much more traditional sectors. According to Forbes Spain 2025, the dominant branches are textiles and distribution (Inditex, Mercadona, Tendam), banking and investment (Santander, March, Abelló), infrastructure and construction (Ferrovial, Acciona) and tourism (Meliá, Barceló). In the vast majority of cases, these are businesses founded or consolidated in the 20th century and today managed by the second or third generation. They are not fortunes born from disruptionbut of the continuity of the family business. At the gates of the “Great Transfer of Assets”. The aging of the economic elite in Spain anticipates a generational wealth transfer unprecedented in our country. Taking data from Forbes, the 111.2 billion euros controlled by people over 80 will inevitably pass at the hands of heirs or successors in the coming years. This transfer of wealth that, sooner rather than later, the richest in Spain will face, also has different implications. First of all, they must start succession processes. Something that, in the case of Amancio Ortega, for example, is in the hands of his daughter Marta Ortega which currently runs Inditex, but leaves great unknowns in many other financial empires. Furthermore, this transfer of assets between the heirs of great fortunes will contribute to reducing the concentration of capital in a single person, given that this assets are usually distributed between several heirs. In Xataka | “They don’t need half a billion dollars to live”: Mick Jagger refuses to leave a million-dollar inheritance to his eight children Image | GTRES, Mercadona, Ferrovial

Spain is a country extremely loyal to its local supermarkets. A chain wants to change that: Action

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He already competitive and highly contested sector of retail Spanish has become complicated with the emergence of a new actor, one whom some already present as a direct competitor of Mercadona or Aldi, although its approach is slightly different. Your name: actiona Dutch chain that is expanding strongly throughout Europe. So much so, in fact, that he boasts of having more than 3,000 stores spread across 13 countries and serve 20.2 million customers every week. And among those countries Spain is included. What exactly is Action? A chain of stores. So far nothing exceptional or out of the ordinary. What has made him stand out is his expansion ratesomething it has achieved largely due to its approach: an aggressive commitment to promotions, prices and an offer in continuous review. To start (and how you can check in your website) the company offers a wide catalog of items that includes everything from household items to stationery, electronics, toys, tools, parapharmacy, clothing or sports. What it differs from, for example, Mercadona (or most supermarkets) is in its power line. While Juan Roig’s firm pays more and more attention to already cooked food and ready to goAction is limited to snacks, cookies, candy, soft drinks and some packaged foods, such as instant noodles or protein bars. Nothing fresh. No butcher or fruit shop sections. Is it their only difference? Its main bet is prices, a discount policy that leads it to launch weekly promotions with products under €15. The company gives it so much importance that it presents itself as “a chain of discount stores for non-food products” and assures that the majority of its products (two thirds) can be purchased for less than two euros. It is nothing exceptional, but it is an effective formula that has allowed other companies to grow before, like Temu. Action ensures that it always has 1,500 products for one euro and renews its catalog with 150 new items every week. And does it work for you? It seems so. At least if we look at your history and figures. Although the company is young (it opened its first store in Enkhuizen, Netherlands, in 1993) it has managed to spread throughout Europe to add more than 3,000 stores in 13 countries. Your last balance shows that its net sales in the first half of the year reached 7.3 billion euros, 17.9% more than in 2024. Regarding commercial expansion, during the same period it opened 125 new stores that now receive, on average, around 20.2 million customers every week. Its main markets are France and Germany, where this year it opened its 600th store. Its presence is also notable in Poland, with around 400 premises. In general, its progression over the last 20 years has been more than notable: in 2003 the chain added 100 storesin 2008 they were already double, in 2014 it added half a thousand and in 2022 it exceeded the 2,000 barrier. This year it has already celebrated a new brand (3,000 stores), with the jump to the Romanian and Swiss markets. And in Spain? The chain debuted in Spain in 2022 and two years later it advanced its peninsular expansion with your first store in Portugal. Here the pioneer was an establishment in Girona, although during its inauguration those responsible for the company already announced that they would continue advancing with a view to the rest of Spain. In fact, during the Girona premiere, Monique Groeneveld, director of the firm, already clarified that in a matter of “weeks” more stores would open in the rest of Catalonia. The passing of the years has confirmed that he was not just talking. Today Action has almost 90 stores spread throughout much of the Spanish geography and a notable footprint in the Community of Madrid, Catalonia, Murcia and the Valencian Community. At the beginning of summer, when it had 74 stores, its workforce already exceeded 1,400 people. Recently its expansion throughout the Spanish geography was expanded with new stores in Royal City, Gijón, Baena and Tárrega. Since June, this vast commercial network has also been completed with its first distribution center in the country, the sixteenth in Europe. A facility of around 59,000 square meters (m2) located in Illescas, in the province of Toledo, designed to supply 210 stores throughout Spain and Portugal. Are they all advantages? No. Although the Dutch chain shares part of the strategy of other firms that have achieved a wide presence in Spain, as a commitment to low costaggressive pricing policy, promotions and own brandswill not have an easy time beating other large chains. Its offer is not comparable to that of Mercadona, Aldi or Lidl (especially due to the differences in food), but Spanish retail is already highly contested and has giants such as Roig’s firm, which has a share of almost 30%. The Spanish customer has also demonstrated notable loyalty towards regional firms. Images | Action and Google Maps In Xataka | For Juan Roig, the key to Mercadona’s future is very simple: “Salaries above the sector average”

the time change is no longer useful

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Twice a year we repeat the same ritual: moving the hands of the clock, checking the microwave, setting the alarm clock. A small gesture that changes our routine and that, for decades, they said promised savings that almost no one sees anymore. Although this year could be one of the last. Pedro Sanchez has announced that the Government will propose to the European Union to eliminate the seasonal time change for next year. But the question that concerns us here is: does it really help to save energy? Boating soon. According to an analysis prepared by Papernestthe time change barely moves the electricity consumption needle. The report, based on data from Red Eléctrica de España (REE) between 2020 and 2024, reveals that the time adjustment today has an almost imperceptible effect on light demand. “The time change no longer has a clear effect on electricity consumption. In several years an increase has even been observed during the afternoons,” states the report to which we have had access. More in depth. The analysis compares the week before and the week after each time change for five consecutive autumns. The results show very small variations – between -6% and +2% – and without any pattern. In three of those five years, consumption in the period of greatest domestic activity (from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.) even increased between 0.3% and 2.4%. Only in 2022 was a significant drop in consumption recorded, close to 6%, although analysts attribute this to the exceptional energy context of that autumn: record electricity priceslower general demand and a more moderate use of heating. A specific decrease that, according to the report, is not directly related to the time change. Source: Papernest (2025), with data from Red Eléctrica de España (REE). In summary, Spanish homes consume practically the same electricity before and after the change. Neither natural light nor temperatures seem to have an appreciable influence. “This reflects that the impact of the time change on the electricity consumption of current homes is practically insignificant,” concludes Papernest. New habits dilute the supposed savings. If decades ago the time change served to make better use of daylight and reduce spending, today the structure of electricity consumption has completely changed. The report points to several factors: teleworking, electric heatingconnected devices and continued use of household appliances that previously only worked in certain strips. In other words, consumption is no longer concentrated only in daylight hours. Electrical activity has been “delocalized” within the day, and the idea that turning the clock back or forward an hour can make a notable difference is no longer true. Furthermore, the document itself highlights that the small variations between weeks cannot be attributed to changes in temperature or solar radiation: there is no consistent correlation between meteorological conditions and demand oscillations. And in the pocket? Neither. Papernest calculates that the average savings per household barely reaches 1.4 euros per year, even in the most optimistic scenario. The calculation is based on the average annual consumption per home in Spain (3,487 kWh, according to Iberdrola), an average reduction of 1.4% after the time change and an average price of €0.132 per kWh. “Even in this optimistic scenario, the economic effect of the time change is practically insignificant compared to the annual electricity bill,” the report summarizes. Translated into an understandable figure, the time adjustment saves about €0.12 per week, or the equivalent of one hour of an LED bulb on. It is a symbolic gesture rather than a measure of efficiency. With savings out of the equation, the debate has moved to another area: that of the body and mind. The energy argument has become obsolete. So what reasons remain to maintain or eliminate the time change? The focus on health and well-being. The consensus between specialists from the Spanish Sleep Society (SES) and other scientific institutions it’s clear: winter time – the one now adopted in October – is the most appropriate from a biological point of view. International studies support this idea: maintaining winter time promotes rest, reduces fatigue and improves morning safety. On the contrary, permanent daylight saving time can generate constant “social jet lag”, especially in the westernmost areas of the country, where sunrises would be delayed until after half past nine in December. The clock no longer changes anything. Five years of data and the same result: changing the time does not save energy, money, or effort. The human being is an animal of habit, which is why it has survived the change of time due to the inertia of the symbolic gesture. Currently, electricity consumption depends more on our routines, climate and technology than on the sun coming through the window. Perhaps, as my colleague titled: “The country that never tires of hurting itself: the truth about the time change is that it is a controversy in which we can only lose.” This weekend we will turn the clocks backbut the time that really counts—that of consumption and rest—no longer moves. And it may literally be time to stop moving it. Image | FreePik and Unsplash Xataka | Without knowing it, Pedro Sánchez has also reopened the other great melon of the hour in Spain: whether Galicia is in his zone or not

Cuenca has been watching its “Palace of Versailles” fall apart for decades. There are those who have proposed to change it

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He Gosálvez Palacea mansion built at the beginning of the last century in Casas de Benítez (Cuenca), near the Júcar River, is not going through its best moment. In its day it was the luxurious residence of the industrialist Enrique Gonsálvez and his extended family, but the building has been suffering plunder and abandonment for decades to the despair of the neighbors. Or at least it has been until now. In March the news broke that the mansion was changing hands to be reborn as accommodation and event venue. The question is whether the known as “Versailles of Cuenca” Will he be reborn or will he only write one more chapter in the sad chronicle that he has dragged on for decades. An unknown gem. They know him as “the Versailles of Cuenca” either “from La Mancha” and (although without reaching the size or splendor of the French building) the truth is that the Gosálvez Palace It is a gem worthy of admiration. In fact, this old palatial residence built around 1900 in the province of Cuenca by order of the businessman Enrique Gosálvez is cataloged as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), attracts the interest of hundreds of visitors and even has its own ‘admirers’ associationa group that has been calling for some time to stop the deterioration that the property has suffered for decades. Is it that important? arrives with take a look to the Catalog of Cultural Heritage of the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha to understand that the palace is a unique piece. Both from a historical and architectural point of view. The construction is of French inspiration, “a little Versailles” very much in line with the palaces that were built in the north of Spain at the beginning of the 20th century. There, in its nearly 20 rooms, the industrialist Enrique Gosálvez once lived with his very extensive progeny between luxuries, elegant furniture and sumptuous gardens. Beyond the architectural interest of the palace, the complex includes additional pieces, such as towers, a neo-Gothic style chapel, a gazebo… and an extensive garden that, remembers the Department of Cultureis a reason in itself to visit the farm. “Some species are unique in the Community of Castilla-La Mancha,” he highlights. As if that were not enough, among its decoration the palace included a fountain popularly known as “The Tsarina”a gift (it is said) that the wife of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II gave to Enrique Gosálvez. A gem in low hours. Neither its splendor nor its rich history prevented the palace from ending up in the worst possible way: ruined after the death of Gosálvez. Although it is protected as a BIC, the construction has clearly deteriorated until it fell into disrepair. “red list” of Hispania Nostra, a list that includes Spanish heritage “at risk of disappearance.” Over there is warned that the building is the victim of decades of “disastrous neglect” and “mutilations” that have caused the structure to degrade and suffer looting. A ray of hope. The future of the property seemed to change a few months ago, when he became interested in it a swiss couple who set out to recover it with a clear purpose: to dedicate it to accommodation, social events and visits. at least like this He published it in March. elDiario.es, which reported that the couple had taken ownership of the venue. They themselves had taken care of announce it through Instagram, from an account in which he accumulates 24,400 followers. The news of the change of owners was echoed other media premises and even the Friends of the Gosálvez Palace and its Surroundings Association through your Facebook account. The issue was actually discussed at an extraordinary assembly in August. “The good news of the change of owners and their interest in bringing the palace and its surroundings back to life have been paralleled by a renewed interest from many heritage lovers to be part of the association,” celebrated. Perfect, right? Not at all. On Monday The Confidential public a chronicle that updates the situation of the palace and shows that its recovery is probably not going to progress as quickly as the Swiss couple wanted. The land has been cleaned and cleared, but when the new owners wanted to touch the construction, Heritage put the brakes on them. At least that’s what it says another post published on the same Instagram account at the beginning of October. “We have been informed that neither basic maintenance work, nor provisional protection of the building, nor removal of debris are authorized.” The authors of the post remember that the mansion is a BIC, a figure that “in theory” seeks to protect the heritage, but in his opinion “in many cases” achieves the “opposite” effect. “The immense bureaucratic and administrative regulation to obtain permits means that no one dares to restore them since costs multiply and work times are prolonged,” abound. “This makes any investment unfeasible, both by individuals and public administrations. This is the reason why we find countless BIC buildings in ruins. The intention of wanting to save buildings does not matter. Only respect for rules that are impossible to comply with.” “They were a little wrong”. The Confidential has interviewed also to the mayor of Casas de Benítez, the municipal area in which the mansion stands. In his opinion, the couple has been optimistic. “They were a little wrong about what this process entails,” he reflects. “They believed that everything could be managed with the City Council and I accompanied them to Cuenca so that they could see that each step must be approved by Heritage. They discovered that it was going to be longer and more expensive than expected. They planned to make it profitable in three months with garden parties.” Pedro Pablo Correas, from the Association of Friends of the Palace, clarify also that “they have only been asked to meet certain minimums”, such as “that there be an architect in charge of the project.” “This couple came from … Read more

that’s about to change

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The factual report published by ENTSO-E didn’t reveal much more than we already knew about the blackout of April 28. Still, until the end of the year we will not have all the answers on the table. What is clear is that Spain is generating more electricity than ever, but it cannot take full advantage of it. The problem does not lie in production, but in lack of interconnections, storage and network capacity. In the words of energy analysts, Spain continues to be an energy island: barely can exchange 2.8% of its capacity with France, well below the European target of 15% set for 2030. This means that, although solar and wind farms generate surplusesmuch of that clean energy is dumped or lost because it cannot be transferred to other areas or sold to the continent. Therefore, the April blackout was not an isolated event, but a symptom of that structural disconnection. And also, the turning point that has launched the country’s largest electrical modernization plan in decades. A new energy map. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has developed the Transportation Network Development Plan 2025-2030. This roadmap seeks in the words of the minister “a change of energy paradigm”. If the previous plan contemplated 2 GW of new demand, it is now planned to meet more than 27 GW, prioritizing industrial projects and clean consumption. The planned investment amounts to 13.6 billion euros and with a total consumption of 375 TWh in 2030. To supply this demand, it is planned to integrate 159GW of renewable energies and more than 22GW of storage – batteries, hydraulic pumping or green hydrogen -, in what will be the largest leap in electrical capacity in the country. Goodbye to the bottleneck. One of the pillars of the new plan is the increase in international interconnection capacity. The most emblematic project is the interconnection of the Bay of Biscaycurrently under construction. This 400 kilometer submarine cable – 300 of them under the sea – will connect the stations of Gatika (Spain) and Cubnezais (France). Financed with 1,600 million euros from the European Investment Bank and 578 million from the “Connecting Europe” Mechanism, it will allow the electricity exchange capacity between both countries to double to 5,000 MW in 2028. according to data from Red Eléctrica (REE) and the EIB. However, it will not be the only link with France. Two new projects are planned for the post-2030 horizon: Navarra–Landes (Olza–Cantegrit) and Aragon–Marsillonwhich will cross the Pyrenees with HVDC (direct current) technology and underground lines to reduce the environmental and social impact. These interconnections seek to maintain the balance of flows between both countries and reach a joint exchange capacity of 8,000 MW. Towards the south, a third interconnection with Morocco is also being studied, which is would add to the two current submarine cables of 400 kV and 900 MW of total capacity. In parallel, the Canary Islands reinforces its strategic role with a new submarine fiber optic and energy cable to Tarfaya (Morocco), a project that will turn the archipelago into a digital and energy node between Europe and Africa, although not free of geopolitical controversy due to its proximity to Western Sahara. A more open flow on the peninsula. If we look towards our neighbor, which presents an even more marked situation of energy isolation, we find a relevant advance: the new 400 kV link between Fontefría and Vilafría (Galicia). Its commissioning, scheduled for the end of the year, will allow electrical connections to be reinforced and the waste of renewable energy will be reduced. The islands are also connected. The plan specifically addresses island electrical systems, where isolation is literal. In the Canary Islands, the Lanzarote–La Graciosa interconnection is planned, while in the Balearic Islands, the Mallorca–Menorca 3 link stands out, designed to reinforce the supply and facilitate the integration of local renewables. Both projects seek to reduce dependence on local generation and improve network stability. According to planning documentsthe total length of submarine lines will increase by 6.3% compared to 2024, reflecting the effort to modernize the maritime links of the Spanish system. Looking towards capacity. Modernization will not only come from outside. The plan includes the repowering of 6,000 kilometers of circuits, the incorporation of dynamic monitoring systems (DLR) and improvements to 9,500 kilometers of lines, which represents 21% of the current network. These actions, together with the digitalization and automation of the network, will allow the absorption of the largest renewable generation without compromising the security of supply. A network to improve electrification. The modernization of the network and the new interconnections will make it possible to take advantage of midday solar surpluses, share energy with Europe and reduce renewable discharges that are currently lost due to lack of capacity. Furthermore, the new planning has an industrial dimension: the MITECO emphasizes that it prioritizes projects of clean consumption, such as green hydrogen poles, electro-intensive factories and data centers, which will demand increasingly decarbonized electricity. The pending challenge. Still, challenges remain. Spain invest only 30 cents in electrical networks for every euro allocated to renewables, less than half the European average. France continues to set the pace for interconnections, often with reluctance due to its nuclear dependence and its role as the dominant node in the European electricity system. Without a faster push in storage, batteries and bureaucracy, the risk is that clean energy will continue to accumulate without being able to be harnessed. From island to energy node. If everything goes as planned, Spain will go from being an electric island to becoming an energy bridge between Europe and Africa in the next five years. It will not be a simple path: the projects will have to overcome complex environmental processes, local resistance and a bureaucracy that is still moving slowly. But the reward will be tangible: more stable bills, less dependence on gas and less risk of blackouts. And, above all, a country capable of exporting its sun and wind at … Read more

Houses built on the sea are part of the US identity. Until climate change began to engulf them

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Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, has a problem. The Atlantic is devouring their houses. Literally. For years, the chalets raised on stilts and built on the coast were one of its most emblematic sights, but their privileged position has become a trap as the sea level rises and hurricanes occur like those that hit the area a few days ago. The result: eight houses demolished in record time. What has happened? That hurricanes Humberto and Imelda have left an unusual impression on the Outer Banksthe chain of islands that covers much of the coast of North Carolina, on the Atlantic coast of the United States, where the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Recently the virulence of the waves devastated eight houses of the area, causing them to collapse in a matter of a few days. On Tuesday, September 30, the storm struck five homes in less than an hour in Buxton (Cape Hatteras), the sixth collapsed that same night amid waves of several meters, the seventh suffered a similar fate on the first day of October and the eighth did not last much longer. The buildings were unoccupied. Why is it important? Beyond how shocking it is to see homes swept away by waves, what happened on the North Carolina coast is interesting for several reasons. To begin with, because these are not typical houses. As can be seen in the videos and photos released by C.B.S., AP, BBC either NBC The buildings were houses similar to stilt housessupported on exposed wooden piles. Hence they are a unmistakable piece of the landscape from areas like Rodanthe. Are they the first to fall? No. And that is the second reason why what happened in recent days in the Outer Banks is much more than a curiosity or a misfortune attributable to two virulent hurricanes. A quick search in the newspaper archive arrives to find similar news: two houses on wooden stilts collapsed in September 2024 in Rodanthe, another in November in the same community, another demolished in 2023 precisely because of the threat of the Atlantic waves… the list goes on and on until there are more than a dozen cases. USA Today calculate that since mid-2020, at least twenty houses have been lost throughout the Outer Banks. Very similar data handles Washington Postthat assures that during the last five years 17 buildings have collapsed in Rodanthe and Buxton alone, a list that could soon be expanded, since there are other houses that are also in a precarious situation. “It’s becoming commonplace,” he resigns Rob Young, director of a program focused on coastal studies at Western Carolina University. “It’s not a problem here. There are homes on the verge of collapse in many places.” Why do they fall? In the case of the houses that collapsed in recent days, the final trigger was the Hurricanes Humberto and Imeldabut in reality the problem is broader. Their position, the sandy nature of the terrain but above all the intensification of storms and the rise in sea level caused by climate change is leaving them in a complicated situation. The reason: coastal erosion, a phenomenon that is already is felt in Rodanthe and Buxton. How does it affect them? As I remembered last year in X the architect Pedro Torrijos, the Cape Hatteras It is already such a narrow strip of land that it is difficult not to build near the coast, but in the last 40 years erosion has acted in such a way that today there are houses that have remained practically above the sea. And so it’s a problem. Piles that were once surrounded by dunes are now sometimes covered by the ocean, affecting their foundations. In 2024 the state Department of Environmental Quality published a report which concludes that of almost 8,800 structures built facing the sea in North Carolina, 750 They are in a delicate situation due to erosion. What do the US authorities say? They are aware of the problem, they are controlling the houses that give in and explore solutions“These are typical elevated coastal-style homes, situated on stilts, with a concrete driveway, parking, and septic system. Many private properties adjacent to Rodanthe, which previously contained patio land, dunes, and dry sand, are regularly partially or completely covered with seawater,” the National Park Service acknowledges. “During severe weather events, private homes facing the sea and in vulnerable areas are hit by strong winds and large waves, which has caused homes to collapse in recent years,” recognize the agency, which has counted 21 collapsed houses since 2020 in Seashore. And what is the way out? Good question, difficult answer. There are those who have chosen raise your houses or even move them away to leave them safe from the waves (for now), but it is not a cheap solution and time is against them. Another option is for the authorities to take care of them, although it has its weaknesses: two years ago the Park Service acquired two houses in Rodanthe to demolish them and thus open an area of ​​public access to the beach. They cost him $700,000. Images | Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Flickr) and National Park Service In Xataka | Milton once again puts a big problem on the table: houses on the beach are losing their value due to climate change

Vigo’s elite has an island for her isolated from the rest of the city. Now risks that to change

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Maybe it’s not as famous as The Cíesbut Torralla It is also a unique island. In its own way, of course. More than its fauna and flora, this small insula of the southern coast of Galicia stands out for its legal situation. Although it is connected to Vigo’s coast through a 400 -meter bridge and in theory it must comply The Costas Lawin practice it is an impenetrable urbanization for most vigueses. At the end of the viaduct there are A garrita with a guard who restricts the passage to the interior of the island. The barrier only rises for the (scarce) residents, their guests and the researchers who work in the Marine Science Station (Ecimat), a space linked to the University of Vigo that premiered in 2006. Torralla is therefore a city within a city, a private and exclusive village available to its even more exclusive residents, including The business elite local. The country Precise that there are only 149 people censored there, although in good weather the number of residents multiplies. Two ways to visit her As access is closed to anyone outside the island, there are only two ways to get an idea of ​​what is inside. One is to cross the bridge and (without crossing the garrita), go down to one of the coves located on both sides of the catwalk, accessible from the 90s Thanks to a Supreme Judgment. The other (more comfortable) is to open Google Maps and notice In view of birds, internal roads, large gardens, chalets and swimming pools that are distributed throughout the island. Its most characteristic piece (and perhaps controversial) can be observed, however, from a good part of the vigués coast: a tower of 70 meters high and 21 plants Raised between the end of the 60 and the beginning of the 70s, during the boom of the developmentalism. In idealist it is possible to find The announcement of a floor of 120 square meters on the 18th plant sold for 620,000 euros. Another peculiarity of the island is that in practice it is intended as a Private condominium in which the City of Vigo barely has a presence: the basic services, such as lighting, water supply or maintenance of the vials are assumed by the neighborhood community, Precise The confidential. That Torralla is today an island of private use, an anomaly of the Galician coast, is greatly explained by Its complex story. Until the second third of the nineteenth century the island belonged to the Church, but after confiscation He went to the Marquis de Valladares. Since then it has changed ownership (in 1884 a prosperous factory came to rise there, Iberian string) until in the mid -60s it ended up under the control of a society, Torralla S. This episode was key to the future of the insula, which saw how in just a few years the bridge was built that connects it with the coast, the Huge residential tower and the thirty of exclusive chalets that are distributed by its surface, some with gardens and pools that arrive almost to the rocks where the sea breaks. In its day, the construction of a nine height and 120 meters long for 85 exclusive homes that met the frontal opposition of the city. “It goes against every idea not only landscape, but I am even afraid that the island sinks,” He came to iron In 1975 the then mayor, Joaquín García Picher. After an intense pull and loosen, three years later the Supreme Court proved him right and gave the judicial folder to the megaproject. Goodbye to privileges? Torralla has been hoarding for years headlines Because of its peculiar status, but a quick search arrives on Google to verify that its rhythm has increased exponentially in recent months. The reason is simple: if the government Fulfill your wordin not long residents could lose one of the privileges that have been retaining for several decades, being the only ones (except for Ecimat workers) who can enjoy the coast of the island. In June, during a visit to the neighboring beach of Samil, Minister Sara Aagesen, guaranteed that will defend “he toCceso to the public domain Maritime-terrestrial “in the area.” It has to be for public use and we are working on the definition of the project, we hope to have it just around the summer, “he insisted. Wednesday The confidential revealed That the government is already finalizing the project to achieve it, which in practice would go through lifting the garrita that prevents the passage of non -residents and recovering the public domain strip of the insula. To understand that effort you have to understand some keys before. The first, the status of the island. What Torralla SA has is a concession, an authorization of almost a century granted in the mid -60s and will not end Until 2064. In between, in the late 80s, the Government approved the Coastal Lawa regulation that regulates the public use of the coast and the one that right now does not adjust the Galician island. In fact, if the vigueses (and the rest of the visitors) can cross the bridge and sunbathe on the coves of the island located on their margins is not because of the hospitality of the SA, but by a sentence of the 90s that forced him to retract the garrita to the end of the catwalk, allowing his public access. The Coastal Law however demands something else. The norm includes a space of “Traffic servitude” that must respect a strip of six meters widean area in which “the construction of any installation is not authorized and should be left permanently expedited for pedestrian public use.” That is what Vigo aspires now with the support of the government: a perimeter walk of more than 1.5 km and at least six meters wide for which residents probably They will have to give land. With him they would achieve two objectives: to end decades of privileges and erase Torralla … Read more

Change Elon Musk’s ship for Jeff Bezos

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The narrative in Washington is that the race to return to the moon is being lost. While China advances with a firm step to put two astronauts on the lunar surface before 2030, the NASA Artemis program hangs from a thread. That thread is called Starship, and less and less involved trust that it is ready to take Americans to the surface of the moon. There is a plan B. A investigation The veteran space reporter Eric Berger reveals that NASA officials could have a plan B to comply with the White House slogan: return to the moon before China arrives for the first time. Given the distrust of Elon Musk, who said publicly that the moon seemed like a distraction and that his priority was Mars, despite the multimillionaire NASA contract that finances the development of Starship HLS, the solution seems to be the ship of its great rival: Jeff Bezos. All to a letter. To understand where this pressing American need to win the lunar race comes from, you have to go back in time. After the disaster of the Columbia space ferry in 2003, NASA focused on the Constellation program, which ended up deriving in the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft, whose development leads Boeing and Lockheed Martin. In addition to huge cost overruns and delays, these two vehicles have ended up costing NASA the headaches of an inefficient architecture to return to the moon. The Artemis III mission, scheduled with optimism by 2027, plans to launch four astronauts in a SLS rocket, take them to the lunar orbit in the Orion ship and then, to two of them, to the lunar surface in a starship HLS of Spacex. That NASA chose the Spacex Starship as the only option for Artemis III (and then Artemis IV) has ended up being its second big mistake. Even if it was the cheapest candidate and Spacex, he was already testing prototypes in flight, it is not the simplest ship to reach the moon: since he uses cryogenic fuel, which has to evaporate, he needs to refuel in orbit several times before embarking on his lunar trip. The revenge of Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos aerospace company, denounced NASA at that time for having put all the eggs in the Starship basket. NASA also ended up hiring its Blue Moon ship, but for future Artemis V and VI missions. Now, after years seeing how Musk dominated the sector, Bezos has the opportunity to take revenge. Blue Origin could advance Spacex With a simpler lunar architecture: a modified version of its Aunaging module Blue Moon Mark 1, originally designed for load flights. The company would be adapting it to carry crew, taking advantage of everything learned in the development of its next -generation manned ship, the Blue Mooon Mark 2. It is 1969 again. The MK1 key is its simplicity: it would not require refueling in orbit, only send several MK1 to lower astronauts to the surface and then ascend again to meet with the Orion ship. It is an approach that, according to Blue Origin engineers, is feasible and could be executed before the decade ends. That is, before China reaches the moon. What the United States wins. It is actually the United States that has put this idea of ​​a lunar career against China in the collective imaginary. China has been playing long -term since it started throwing robots into the moon. But now that its date of sending astronauts is approaching, the US urgency is not accidental. The White House She is obsessed with winning Chinato the point of having vetoed Chinese citizens even at meetings for NASA zoom. He has also advanced the Artemis II mission to show that he is still in the game. He is NASA’s acting administrator, Sean Duffy, close to the government, who promotes the narrative: “We are going to win the Chinese on the moon.” At the same time, it’s not just a matter of pride. Settle permanently on the moon It is not just for glory, it is for the control of its resources. The first country to establish a functional base will have the pan by the handle. With Spacex Plan A accumulating doubts, Blue Origin’s proposal is presented as the alternative that NASA needs.

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