Construction Other

On Friday 16 May 2025, INELFE marked a symbolic construction milestone for the Bay of Biscay interconnection with the laying of the first stone of the future Cubnezais converter station in Gironde, near Bordeaux. Roberto García Merino, CEO of Redeia (parent of Red Eléctrica), Xavier Piechaczyk, chairman of the Board of Directors of RTE, Céline Maquet, sub-prefect of Blaye representing Etienne Guyot prefect of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and Jean-Luc Desperiez, mayor of Cubnezais, laid the first stone of the future converter station that will form the French end of the 400 km, 2,000 MW HVDC double-circuit link to Gatika in Spain. The ceremony signalled that the works begun in 2023 are advancing in line with the schedule for entry into service in 2028. At the time of the ceremony, INELFE reported that the buildings of the Cubnezais converter station were under construction with completion targeted by end-2025, with electrical equipment installation continuing until mid-2027 ahead of the testing phase. RTE separately stated that, along the French route, more than 50% of the trench works for the two electrical circuits had been completed and that the perforations at the Le Porge, Seignosse and Capbreton landfalls were also done. The total French construction spend is reported at €600 million, of which €175 million (around 30%) is to be spent in the south-west of France.