Work has begun on a new 1GW interconnector with France which will pass through the channel tunnel.
The foundation stone of a converter station in Folkestone was laid yesterday by energy minister Jesse Norman.
The ElecLink interconnector will run for 69 kilometres between an RTE substation at Les Madarins in France and a National Grid substation at Sellindge in the UK. Roughly 300 people will be employed for its construction, which is expected to cost around €580 million (£489 million).
The project will increase the UK’s interconnector capacity with France by 50 per cent to 3GW and is projected to reduce carbon dioxide emission by 6 million tonnes by enabling the most efficient use of generating capacity in both countries.
ElecLink has been granted a 25-year exemption from the “cap and floor” regulatory regime, which sets minimum and maximum prices for the sale of capacity. It will instead operate as a private interconnector over the period, selling capacity at a price of its choosing.
The high voltage direct current portion of the link will be laid through the northern rail tunnel. Construction, inspections and maintenance will be assisted by crossovers in the channel tunnel which trains can use to switch between the north and south tunnels, thereby allowing specific sections to be isolated.
Siemens will construct the converter stations in both the UK and France; Balfour Beatty and Prysmian will install the direct current cables in the tunnel and the underground alternating current cables on the UK side; and French grid operator RTE will lay the underground alternating current cables on the French side.
“As a government, we are strongly supportive of greater electricity trading with our European partners in order to lower household bills and deliver energy security as part of our modern industrial strategy,” said energy minister Jesse Norman.
“We’ve created the right environment for cooperative projects like ElecLink to attract investment and compete in the market without needing financial support from our tax and bill payers.”
Groupe Eurotunnel chairman and chief executive Jacques Gounon said: “With the debate over the future of energy security brought into focus recently, ElecLink delivers a smart and environmentally friendly way to secure the electricity supply.
“We are proud to be inaugurating ElecLink this great project which will significantly benefit the economies and consumers in both France and the United Kingdom.”
The existing 2GW IFA interconnector between the UK and France has been operating at half capacity since four of its eight subsea cables were severed in November.