MADRID: The link between the two countries will be sited in the Bay of Biscay, and will nearly double capacity to share excess power. The largest-ever energy grant from the Connecting Europe Facility will be “decisive” in building the link that will run 280 km of offshore cable and underground connections in France that will add 2,200MW of capacity between the neighbours.
The construction of the Biscay Gulf France-Spain interconnection marks an important step towards ending the isolation of the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of the internal energy market,” said Miguel Arias Cañete, commissioner for climate action and energy.
They see imports of cheap renewable electricity from Spain as a threat to their inflexible nuclear generation,” said Jean-François Fauconnier of Climate Action Network, an environmental campaign group. “More interconnections are a good development as there is always wind blowing somewhere in Europe and lots of sunshine in Southern Europe.”
Better energy interconnections between EU members will be the focus of a mini-summit in Lisbon next month. Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa will host French president Emmanuel Macron, Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.
Only a fully interconnected market will improve Europe’s security of supply, ending the dependence of single suppliers and give consumers more choice. An energy infrastructure which is fit for purpose is also essential for renewables to thrive and for delivering on the Paris Agreement,” said Mr Cañeta.
FT reports that on Thursday the EU announced a total of €873m in spending commitments to 17 projects: eight in the electricity sector and nine in gas. Of the total cash, €150m will fund 13 studies, with the remaining money was committed to four construction projects.
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