Britib is a proposed multi-terminal VSC HVDC interconnection concept linking the Basque Country (Spain), Cordemais (France) and South‑West England (United Kingdom). The project was promoted for inclusion in ENTSO‑E's TYNDP 2016 by ACS Cobra Investments (a non‑ENTSO‑E promoter). It was presented a...
On 6 December 2016, ENTSO‑E’s Ten‑Year Network Development Plan 2016 listed the Britib project (Project 296) as a future interconnection between South‑West England, Cordemais in France and the Basque Country in Spain, configured as a 525–600 kV multiterminal HVDC link with three 1,800 MW inputs/outputs and a mainly subsea route of about 1,330 km. The project sheet classifies Britib as a future project on the Spain–France–United Kingdom boundary and identifies ACS Cobra as its promoter.
The TYNDP 2016 project sheet for Britib records that the interconnector is associated with PCI label 1437 and as Investment ID 1437, described as a new HVDC interconnection (e‑Highway) forming the first piece of the North‑South West priority corridor in Western Europe between Gatica/Hernani, Cordemais and Langage/Indian Queens. This links the Spain–France–United Kingdom boundary and is promoted by ACS Cobra.
ENTSO‑E’s Common Planning Studies in the Regional Investment Plan published in 2015 for the Continental South‑West region assessed additional interconnections from Spain to Great Britain and Italy and concluded that, although they could yield some variable generation cost savings, such long (900–1,200 km) subsea links would not be cost‑effective given their high investment costs and challenging seabed and socio‑environmental constraints. This conclusion, cited in the Britib project sheet, highlighted significant economic and environmental barriers to further Iberia–GB interconnection capacity such as Britib.
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Owners
BRITIB, Britib project, Gatica–Cordemais–Langage (node names), Gatica/Hernani – Cordemais – Langage/Indian Queens, TYNDP project 182, TYNDP project 296, Promoted by ACS Cobra
In Q2 2015 ENTSO‑E set out an application process, followed by a public consultation, for projects promoted by non‑ENTSO‑E members seeking inclusion in the TYNDP under the European Commission’s draft guidelines on treatment of all promoters. The Britib project, promoted by ACS Cobra, entered this process, but at the closure of the consultation ENTSO‑E noted that the project had not demonstrated compliance with the EC draft guidelines and that the proposal did not result directly from planning studies in ENTSO‑E’s Regional Groups.
In ENTSO-E’s TYNDP 2016 project sheet for Britib (Project 296, investment ID 1437), the interconnector is classified as a future project with status "Under Consideration", and the investment table lists a commissioning year of 2014 in the column "Commissioning since" for the new HVDC interconnection between Gatica/Hernani (Spain), Cordemais (France) and Langage/Indian Queens (Great Britain). This reflects an assumed full commissioning date for planning purposes rather than an achieved operational milestone, as the project remains under consideration.
ENTSO-E conducted a public consultation on the Britib multiterminal Spain–France–UK HVDC interconnector after establishing an application process in Q2 2015 for projects promoted by non‑ENTSO‑E members. During this consultation, the Britib proposal was assessed against the European Commission’s draft guidelines for treatment of all promoters, but by the time the consultation closed the project had not demonstrated compliance with those guidelines, and it was noted that the proposal did not result directly from ENTSO‑E regional group planning studies.
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