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UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
Second electricity link to France starts flowing
National Grid’s second electricity interconnector linking the UK and France – IFA2 – is now able to flow electricity between the two countries at full capacity.
Wholesale power traders started buying capacity to transport power across the 240-km subsea power cable, which stretches along the sea floor between Fareham, Hampshire in the UK and near Caen, Normandy in France.
A joint venture with French Transmission System Operator RTE, IFA2 increases the amount of energy that can be shared between the two countries. With a capacity of 1,000 MW, the high voltage direct current (HVDC) power cable can provide enough energy to power one million British homes and is expected to meet around 1.2% of Britain’s electricity demand, says National Grid.
Since construction began in 2018, IFA2 has seen more than 1,000 engineers and specialists work a total of around 3.2mn working hours to date.
National Grid’s portfolio now has four operational interconnectors – two to France (the 30-year old IFA and now IFA2), one to the Netherlands (BritNed) and one to Belgium (Nemo Link). Two further projects are under construction – to Norway (North Sea Link, to be operational later this year) and Denmark (Viking Link, operational 2023). National Grid says that, by 2030, some 90% of electricity imported via interconnectors will be from zero carbon sources.
