Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 4 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 2 related plants in PECWeb
Released August 28, 2015 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Work has started on a new, 1 billion-euro ($1.1 billion) power link across the Alps to connect the electricity grids of France and Italy.
French power grid operator Reseau de Transport d'Electricite (RTE) has announced that work is under way on the 190-kilometer (km) Savoy-Piemont high-voltage, direct-current (HVDC) interconnection from Chambery in France to the Italian city of Turin. Italy is the largest customer for French power exports. The costs of the project are being shared equally with Italian grid operator Terna SpA (Rome). RTE and Terna operate two of Europe's largest grid networks, covering 105,000 km and 63,900 km, respectively.
The new grid link, which will have a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW), will ease the congestion being experienced on existing power links, which have a capacity of 2,700 MW. In 2014, Italy imported more than 19 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity from France, almost one third of France's total electricity exports of 65 TWh. France is Europe's largest exporter of electricity.
In April, Industrial Info reported on the work being done to double the energy exchange between France and Spain, with the near completion of a 65-km link between Baixas, west of Perpignan, France, and Santa Llogaia, Spain. For additional information, see April 23, 2015, article - France-Spain Power Link Nears Completion.
Contracts for the France-Italy link have been awarded to a consortium of companies led by cabling specialist Prysmian Group (Milan, Italy). It will provide a 320-kilovolt (kV), extruded HVDC, underground cable turnkey system, which includes the engineering, production and installation of two 600-MW bipolar circuits along a 190-km land route.
Prysmian Group and Silec Cable will provide the HVDC underground cables, which will be insulated with extruded material technology; Roda SpA and CEBAT srl will provide civil works and installation on the Italian side and Gauthey, Serpollet and Sobeca will provide civil works and installation on the French side. Commissioning is scheduled for 2019. Prysmian claimed the overall length of the link is the longest of its type and sets a world record for HVDC underground interconnections using extruded cable technology.
RTE and Terna recently signed a memorandum of understanding to intensify their technical cooperation in various fields and will increase their joint efforts for the development of electricity transmission infrastructures in the central-south region of continental Europe.
RTE Chief Executive Officer Dominique Maillard said: "The cooperation among Transmission System Operators is crucial for the good integration of the European Regions, as well as the Mediterranean shores. By signing this agreement, RTE and Terna reaffirm their willingness to collaborate with the common aim to contribute to the construction of a reliable, competitive and forward oriented European power system."
The project is one of a number of key projects under way as part of the European Union's efforts to create an electricity super-grid spanning the region.
U.K. grid operator National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) (London) and its Norwegian counterpart, Statnett (Oslo, Norway), are building the North Sea Network (NSN), the world's longest interconnector. They will lay two 730-km HVDC marine cables linking southwest Norway to the Northumberland coast, in northeast England. They will have a capacity of up to 1,400 MW. For additional information, see March 31, 2015, article - Work to Start on World's Longest Interconnector.
In February, Norway and Germany's grid operators announced an agreement to build NordLink, the first high-capacity power cable between both countries. For additional information, see February 19, 2015, article - Norway and Germany Linking Electricity Grids.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
French power grid operator Reseau de Transport d'Electricite (RTE) has announced that work is under way on the 190-kilometer (km) Savoy-Piemont high-voltage, direct-current (HVDC) interconnection from Chambery in France to the Italian city of Turin. Italy is the largest customer for French power exports. The costs of the project are being shared equally with Italian grid operator Terna SpA (Rome). RTE and Terna operate two of Europe's largest grid networks, covering 105,000 km and 63,900 km, respectively.
The new grid link, which will have a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW), will ease the congestion being experienced on existing power links, which have a capacity of 2,700 MW. In 2014, Italy imported more than 19 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity from France, almost one third of France's total electricity exports of 65 TWh. France is Europe's largest exporter of electricity.
In April, Industrial Info reported on the work being done to double the energy exchange between France and Spain, with the near completion of a 65-km link between Baixas, west of Perpignan, France, and Santa Llogaia, Spain. For additional information, see April 23, 2015, article - France-Spain Power Link Nears Completion.
Contracts for the France-Italy link have been awarded to a consortium of companies led by cabling specialist Prysmian Group (Milan, Italy). It will provide a 320-kilovolt (kV), extruded HVDC, underground cable turnkey system, which includes the engineering, production and installation of two 600-MW bipolar circuits along a 190-km land route.
Prysmian Group and Silec Cable will provide the HVDC underground cables, which will be insulated with extruded material technology; Roda SpA and CEBAT srl will provide civil works and installation on the Italian side and Gauthey, Serpollet and Sobeca will provide civil works and installation on the French side. Commissioning is scheduled for 2019. Prysmian claimed the overall length of the link is the longest of its type and sets a world record for HVDC underground interconnections using extruded cable technology.
RTE and Terna recently signed a memorandum of understanding to intensify their technical cooperation in various fields and will increase their joint efforts for the development of electricity transmission infrastructures in the central-south region of continental Europe.
RTE Chief Executive Officer Dominique Maillard said: "The cooperation among Transmission System Operators is crucial for the good integration of the European Regions, as well as the Mediterranean shores. By signing this agreement, RTE and Terna reaffirm their willingness to collaborate with the common aim to contribute to the construction of a reliable, competitive and forward oriented European power system."
The project is one of a number of key projects under way as part of the European Union's efforts to create an electricity super-grid spanning the region.
U.K. grid operator National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) (London) and its Norwegian counterpart, Statnett (Oslo, Norway), are building the North Sea Network (NSN), the world's longest interconnector. They will lay two 730-km HVDC marine cables linking southwest Norway to the Northumberland coast, in northeast England. They will have a capacity of up to 1,400 MW. For additional information, see March 31, 2015, article - Work to Start on World's Longest Interconnector.
In February, Norway and Germany's grid operators announced an agreement to build NordLink, the first high-capacity power cable between both countries. For additional information, see February 19, 2015, article - Norway and Germany Linking Electricity Grids.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
