ABL to support offshore installation of French-Spanish interconnector

22 July 2024

INELFE is the the joint company set up by the French and Spanish electricity transmission system operators, Réseau de Transport d’Électricité and Red Eléctrica de España, and is responsible for building and activating the French-Spanish interconnectors (first Baixas-Santa Llogaia and now Biscay Gulf) to increase the interchange capacity between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe.

The project, co-financed by the European Union, is a PCI (Project of Common Interest) and consists of installing the interconnections between the Gatika substation near Bilbao, Spain and the Cubnezais substation in the French region of Aquitaine. It will consist of four cables, two per link. It will have a transmission capacity of 2 x 1,000 MW. In total, almost 400 km of land and mainly subsea interconnector cables using High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology will be installed.

“Interconnectors play an increasingly crucial role in our modern energy systems. They enhance our energy security, improve cost and energy efficiency, and facilitate greater renewable energy integration into electrical systems. Our track-record covers experience supporting the construction of some of the world’s most significant interconnector projects in Europe, Americas, Middle East and Asia Pacific. In short, we have the experience and the technical expertise to support this challenging project,” says Hugues Delanoue, managing director of ABL in France.

ABL’s scope of work includes the technical document review of all procedures, drawings and calculations relating to warranted operations, suitability survey of the proposed fleet including dynamic positioning (DP) trials where relevant, and on-site attendance at the offshore operations.

The project has been awarded to ABL’s operations in France, based in Paris. It will be supported by ABL’s MWS teams in both France and Spain.

“70 percent of ABL France’s work is supporting renewable energy and energy transition technology development, including subsea interconnectors. This project aligns with who we are and what we stand for, and we will apply our technical expertise and market-leading track-record in marine warranty survey, to help strengthen energy supply for more people and more homes,” adds Hugues Delanoue.

ABL is part of Oslo-listed consultancy ABL Group ASA and specialises in market-leading marine warranty services, marine assurance and risk, maritime consultancy services, and engineering and consultancy.