PARIS, FRANCE – RTE, the French transmission system operator, is proposing to invest $36.5 billion (33 billion euros) by 2035 to renovate the French network and add more international power lines.
Provided that the French regulator approves RTE’s proposal, the grid would spend 21 billion euros to adapt its network and renovate existing lines, 7 billion euros to connect more than 10 GW of planned offshore wind farms and 3 billion euros to digitalize equipment, reports Bloomberg.
RTE also plans to boost the capacity of its interconnectors to about 30 GW in the next 15 years, starting with the completion of 3 GW of new links under construction with the UK and Italy.
Following those two projects, France plans to prioritize construction of new electricity links with Spain, Germany and Belgium, pushing any future UK connections beyond 2025, until the impact of Brexit and the economic rationale for further UK links becomes clear.
Considering France’s plans of multibillion-euro investments to renovate its grid and accommodate an expected increase in intermittent renewables, deciding which interconnector links will get built is key to Europe’s energy market.
Source: Bloomberg