FRANCE – National Grid and RTE’s 1 GW electricity interconnector IFA2 across the seabed of the English Channel has paid off its carbon cost in less than a year.

The 1 GW electricity cable, which stretches around 193 km (120 miles) across the seabed of the English Channel from Lee-on-Solent near Portsmouth and Caen in northwest France, was commissioned in January 2021.

The link enables the UK to import enough clean electricity to power 1 million UK homes.  In its first 12 months of operation, it has saved 300,000 tonnes of carbon by importing zero carbon nuclear power from France, National Grid said in a press release.

IFA2, a partnership with French system operator RTE, is the UK’s second link to France. IFA, the UK’s first interconnector to France, started operating in 1986.

IFA and IFA2 are part of a portfolio of interconnectors owned and operated by National Grid and its European partners. The company also operates BritNed to The Netherlands, Nemo Link to Belgium and North Sea Link to Norway, which was commissioned in October last year.

National Grid’s sixth interconnector, Viking Link, is currently under construction. Expected to be completed by the end of 2023, the project will link Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire to Revsing in Denmark and will be able to import enough clean electricity to power a further 1.4 million UK homes. By 2024, National Grid’s interconnectors will enable the sharing of enough clean electricity to power 8 million UK homes, the utility said in a press release.

“By 2030, we estimate our interconnectors, including IFA2, will have saved the UK around 100 million tonnes of CO2 by enabling the fast and flexible sharing of clean and green energy with our European neighbours,” said Nicola Medalova, Managing Director Interconnectors for National Grid.

By providing access to large quantities of power at the flick of a switch, interconnectors give system operators a critical tool to manage rapid changes in supply and demand, which is increasingly important in an energy system driven by intermittent renewable generation, National Grid said in a press release.

Source: National Grid