According to a study on the benefits of additional electricity interconnections between Iberian peninsula and rest of Europe by the European Commission, further electricity interconnection lines between Spain and France will bring significant socio-economic benefits.
Three Projects of Common Interest were approved in 2014, namely the double circuit HVDC cable Baixas – Santa Llogaia, the Arkale phase shifter transformer and the Biscay Gulf project. With these projects, the interconnection capacity between Spain and the rest of Europe should be 7.8 GW, which will correspond to 7% of the installed capacity in Spain in 2020.
To reach the 10% interconnection target (interconnection capacity of 14 GW by 2030), benefits from the optimization of the interregional economic
dispatch (better use of renewable and nuclear potential) would exceed costs. For example, the costs of the Biscay Gulf interconnector are estimated at €1.9bn but the annual benefits would range between €250m and €290m/year, meaning the project would cover its costs in only nine years.
According to the study, the 12% objective (16.8 GW by 2030) is at the limit of the profitability, while an interconnection level of 15% of installed capacity in Spain in 2030 (21.1 GW) is not profitable under any of the scenarios analysed in this study.