Groupe Eurotunnel has reached an agreement with its partner STAR Capital Partners to acquire its 51% stake in their ElecLink joint venture, which aims to develop a 1,000 MW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) interconnector between the United Kingdom and France. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions. Once concluded, Groupe Eurotunnel will hold 100% of ElecLink.
ElecLink is developing the first merchant line between the UK and France using the service tunnel of the Folkestone-Calais Eurotunnel (75 km long), which is expected to increase the existing interconnection capacity between the two countries by 50%. The French and British energy regulators CRE and Ofgem granted the 1 000 MW transmission capacity project a 25-year "partial exemption" from certain European regulations, such as ownership unbundling and third party access, which was approved by the European Commission in July 2014. Construction is expected to start at the end of this year and the €500m project could be commissioned as early as 2019.