Brussels, 30/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero and French Prime Minister François Fillon concluded an agreement in Zaragoza (Spain) on 26 June 2008 to build a new high tension power line between France and Spain to triple electrical interconnection capacity between the two countries from 1,200 to 3,600 megawatts. The deal will be followed by the creation of a 50/50 joint venture between REE of France and RTE of Spain (the two countries' grid managing entities) by 1 October 2008 which may apply for funding from the European Commission. The consortium should unveil a preliminary draft plan before the autumn 2008 Franco-Spanish summit.
The high tension power line will have a strength of 400,000 volts and be nearly 200 kilometres long. It will run between Sentmenat (north of Barcelona in Spain) to Baixàs (west of Perpignan in France) and will be operational in 2011. The final route is not yet known but the deal foresees that as far as possible, it should be built along existing infrastructure routes, road and rail tunnels. France and Spain will provide equal funding for building the underground cross-border section of the line, the 50 km section between Baixàs and Santa Llogaia (near Figueras in Spain). France has pledged not to build any new electrical interconnection in the future through the French 'département' of Pyrénées Orientales.
The project had been in deadlock for more than 15 years due to opposition from locals and ecologists, particularly on the French side of the Pyrénées mountain range. France and Spain followed the recommendations of former EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti, appointed in November 2007 as coordinator of this interconnection project, described by the European Council as a “priority”. He acted as mediator and facilitated agreement by suggesting that some of the line be buried underground (six times more expensive per kilometre than keeping the cables above ground) and sticking to existing infrastructure routes as far as possible. The Commission immediately welcomed this deal after years of deadlock due to the remarkable mediation and persuasion of Mario Monti. EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said that within a very short time, Monti had been able to identify the key issues that remained to be settled and provided suitable answers in an extended consultation with the people concerned. Piebalgs added that Monti's role was a good illustration of the added value that the EU could provide in facilitating the implementation of vital projects for the sustainable growth of the EU economy. (E.H./transl.fl)