France and Spain have increased the planned capacity of their Bay or Biscay Electricity interconnection from 2.8 GW to 5 GW, with € 1.6 billion ($ 1.8 billion) in financing approved by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Earlier this month, EIB President Nadia Calviño announced an agreement to expand the connections between electricity between Spain and France. This week the EIB approved € 1.6 billion in financing for the Bay of Biscay Electricity Interconnection. The financing will be provided through loans to the Spain operator of electricity transmission, Red Eléctrica, and France in Réseau de Transport d’électricitre (RTE).
The first tranches of the loans, a total of € 1.2 billion, were signed this week at the EIB head office in Luxembourg. The financing comes on top of a subsidy of € 578 million from the European Union under the Connecting Europe facility.
The project connects the alternating current systems of the countries with the help of a high -voltage direct current submarine connection. At each end, converter stations in Cubnezais, France and Gatika, Spain, will transform the stream for integration into national transmission junks. Last week Red Eléctrica announced that construction had begun on the underground part of the line on the Spanish side.
The interconnection consists of four cables, two for each link. The double submarine and underground direct streamline extend almost 400 km between the Cubnezais -under station near Bordeaux and the Gatika substation near Bilbao. Each end of the link has a converter station to convert direct power into a alternating current for grid connection.
The link runs between the Gatika -under station and the Cubnezais -under station. From the Spanish Basque coast to the French Médoc coast, submarine will be about 300 km, with a short underground section to bypass the Capbreton Submarine Canyon.
Planners have said that they intend to minimize the impact of the project on fish activity.
Cable -laying barrels place each cable on the seabed. Where possible, the cables are buried; In areas where the seabed is too difficult, they will be covered.
The interconnection is referred to as a European project of common interest (PCI). Inelfe, a joint venture between RTE and Red Eléctrica, develops the project, which will be in 2028. Once completed, the project will almost double the electricity exchange capacity between France and Spain to 5 GW.
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