Spain and France are electrically connected

USPA NEWS - The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, and the French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, will open this Friday February 20th Spain-France interconnection line voltage "Baixas-Santa Llogaia". According to the Spanish Government, sufficient interconnection is essential.

This interconnection, 65 kilometers, was built between the towns of Santa Llogaia (in the Spanish province of Gerona) and Baixas (near Perpignan) and mean doubling the existing interconnection capacity between both countries, up to 2,800 MW, which is a very important step towards the goal of interconnection between Spain and France 10% of installed capacity.

The European Council in Barcelona in 2002 set that in 2005, countries had to have an electrical interconnection of at least 10% of its capacity. The European Council last October 2014, reaffirmed its support for the 10% proposal from the Commission, of 15% by 2030. Currently, Spain has an interconnection capacity with France of 1400 MW, the 1.4% of its installed capacity.

According to the Spanish Government, sufficient interconnection is essential to ensure the stability of the Spanish electricity system, development and economic sustainability of renewable energy condition and ensure the lowest cost of electricity for Spanish households and improve competitiveness Spanish companies. These reasons lead to a strategy by Spain to a substantial increase of interconnections, as evidenced by this project that will be inaugurated on the 20th, and the intense dialogue and negotiation with France and the European institutions.

All this is expected, showing itself, very soon, in the implementation of new projects with public-private funding, among other resources, the so-called "Juncker Plan", which will also allow meeting the target of 10% interconnection with France that Spain no longer an energy "island". Inelfe society has been created to 50% between the two companies transporting electricity high voltage Spanish and French, REE and RTE, in charge of carrying out this project now presented and in which the line runs underground, so its environmental impact is virtually nil.