REE, the Spanish power transmission system operator, has completed tunnelling works for the electricity interconnection between Spain and France. The tunnel runs parallel to the high-speed train line and links the municipalities of Jonquera in Spain and Montesquieu-des-Albères in France, and allows the 320 kV direct-current line to electrically link up Spain with France through the Pyrenees with minimal environmental impact.
The interconnection between Spain and France will increase the electricity exchange capacity between both countries from 1400 MW to 2800 MW and will save the emission of 2.3 MtCO2/year. It will strengthen the security of the electricity supply at both regional and national levels and will allow the production from generating power stations to be maximised and allow the integration of a greater amount of renewable energy into the grid.
The tunnel construction works, which began in March 2012 on the Spanish side and in October 2012 on the French side, will be fully completed in January 2014.
The project that has a budget of €700m and has been declared of European interest, is receiving funding from the European Union up to €225m as part of the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR), and has been granted a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) amounting to €350m.