Spain gets €175m loan for EU interconnector

A Spanish power company has been granted a loan worth €175 million (£141 million) by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund an electricity interconnector between France and Spain. The […]

A Spanish power company has been granted a loan worth €175 million (£141 million) by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund an electricity interconnector between France and Spain.

The project is expected to double the capacity of electricity exchange between Spain and the rest of Europe.

Red Electrica de Espana and French company RTE will work towards building an underground 64.5 km power line alongside existing infrastructure connecting Santa Llogaia in Spain and Baixas in France.

A Voltage Source Convertor (VSC) will be used, which has the ability to rapidly convert alternating current to direct current. The project is expected to improve energy security and strengthen the overall EU electricity market.

The total cost of the interconnection will be €700 million (£564 million), half of which provided by the EIB.

The commercial launch of the interconnector is scheduled in 2014.

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