en.Wedoany.com Reported - Progress has been made on the construction of landing points for the first submarine power interconnection link between France and Spain. Danish cable manufacturer and installer NKT has completed two of the three landing points in France, connecting the 400 kV offshore high-voltage direct current cables to the onshore section of the interconnection link.

The Bay of Biscay interconnection link has a total length of approximately 400 kilometers, of which about 300 kilometers is the submarine section, connecting the Cubnezais substation in France with the Gatika substation in Spain. The project is being advanced by Inelfe, a joint venture between Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica and French grid operator RTE, aimed at increasing transmission capacity between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of continental Europe. The project has been designated as a Project of Common Interest by the European Union and has received support from the European Investment Bank with a €1.6 billion loan and a €578 million specific grant from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility.

In 2023, NKT was awarded a turnkey contract worth over €600 million for the 400 kV DC transmission cables for this project. The link consists of four cables (two per circuit) and includes a short underground section to bypass the Capbreton submarine canyon. NKT reported earlier this month that construction at two landing points in France has been completed.

The project is scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2028, at which point the electricity exchange capacity between France and Spain will increase from the current 2,800 megawatts to 5,000 megawatts, nearly doubling, thereby enhancing the stability of both countries' power grids and the degree of European energy integration.