Construction of the HVDC France-Spain Interconnection
In June 2008, France and Spain decided to establish an electrical interconnection between Perpignan, France, and Figueres, Spain, by establishing a DC underground cable using, wherever possible, the routes of existing infrastructure. The investigation initially focused on a route using a trench, but that was not possible. So a tunnel solution was adopted to cross the Pyrenees Mountains. The underground cable route has an overall length of 64.5 km (40.1 miles), with 32 km (19.9 miles) in Spain and 32.5 km (20.2 miles) in France. In the tunnel, 8.3 km (5.16 miles) of cable is installed.
Following are images of the process. The project is discussed in detail in the June issue of T&D World in "Crossing Mountains to Connect Two Countries."
About the Author
Javier Arévalo Camacho
Javier Arévalo Camacho is a forest and civil engineer who studied at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. He worked at INTECSA for five years on environmental impact studies on highways and other infrastructure. Arévalo has 26 years of experience working in the environmental department of Red Eléctrica de España on environmental and technical feasibility studies on overhead power line projects in 10 different countries. He was responsible for the design and construction of the Spain-France Interconnection tunnel.
Gregorio Denche Castejón
Technical Manager
Gregorio Denche Castejón was awarded his industrial engineer’s degree from the Polytechnic University of Madrid in 2002 and joined Red Eléctrica de España in 2003 in the engineering lines department. Denche has been the technical manager for several underground and submarine projects that have included the second electrical interconnection between Spain and Morocco; the electrical interconnection between the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands; and the electrical interconnection between France and Spain.
José Manuel Argüelles Enjuanes
José Manuel Argüelles Enjuanes was awarded his industrial electrical engineering degree from the Gijón Polytechnic School of Engineering in 2006. Initially, he worked for Socoin Ingeniería y Construcción Industrial in the new developments transport and distribution department. Argüelles then joined Red Eléctrica de España in 2009 to work on the electrical interconnection between France and Spain, for which he was involved in the cable system design and construction of the link.