€1.6 Billion for Spain-France Electricity Interconnection
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has pledged €1.6 billion to finance the construction of the Bay of Biscay electricity interconnection between Spain and France. With a total route length of 400 km, 300 km of which will be underwater, it will become the first submarine electricity interconnection between Spain and France.
The EIB financing for the Bay of Biscay project takes the form of loans to Spanish and French transmission-system operators Red Eléctrica and RTE Réseau de transport d’électricité.
The parties have signed first loan tranches totaling €1.2 billion at the EIB headquarters in Luxembourg.
A €578 million EU grant has been allocated to this project under the Connecting Europe Facility. This is a landmark Project of common interest in which the EIB, the European Commission, Red Eléctrica and RTE are joining forces to strengthen cross-border electricity interconnections and, thus, the overall European energy system.
Construction of the Bay of Biscay link is already underway by Inelfe, the joint venture by RTE and Red Eléctrica. It is due to become operational in 2028. The project will almost double the electricity exchange capacity between France and Spain to 5,000 MW.