ROMULO
Island LinkOperationalES400 MW250 kV244 km2011
Also known as:Mainland-Balearic Islands link, COMETA, COnección MEditerránea Transporte Alta tensión, RÓMULO, Romulus project, Majorca–Valencia interconnector, Peninsula–Balearic Islands HVDC submarine link, Sagunto–Santa Ponsa interconnector, Enlace Península-Baleares, REE ROMULO project
Status:Operational
Capacity:400 MW
Type:island link
Website:www.ree.es
The Mainland–Balearic Islands link (Romulo / COMETA HVDC) is a Spain domestic HVDC submarine interconnector that links the peninsular transmission grid at Morvedre (Sagunto/Valencia) with the Balearic system at Santa Ponsa (Calvià, Mallorca). Commissioned and put into full service in 2012, the project’s strategic purpose is to end the electrical...
Supply Chain (3)
Project Timeline (9)
Aug 2012Commercial Operations Full Power
From August 2012, the Rómulo interconnector between the Spanish Peninsula and the Balearic Islands entered normal commercial operation, ending the electrical isolation of the Balearic system. Red Eléctrica states that since then the link has operated continuously, initially supplying around 15% of Balearic electricity consumption and, by its fifth year of commercial service, covering about 23% of the archipelago’s demand and enabling significant cost and emissions reductions.
16 Dec 2011First Power
On 16 December 2011, the Balearic Islands’ electricity system received electrical energy from the Spanish Peninsula for the first time via the newly commissioned Rómulo HVDC submarine interconnection between Sagunto (Valencia) and Santa Ponsa (Majorca). Red Eléctrica reported that, following completion of the submarine link and associated infrastructure earlier in 2011, the interconnection had begun operating in a partially operational test phase to verify control and protection functions while enabling exchange of power between Majorca–Menorca and the Peninsula.
28 Mar 2011Cable Installation Start
On 28 March 2011, Red Eléctrica de España started laying the third and final submarine cable for the Romulo interconnection between the Spanish peninsula and the Balearic Islands, with a subsequent test period planned in summer 2011 ahead of commissioning later that year.
13 Jan 2011Cable Installation Start
On 13 January 2011, Red Eléctrica de España began offshore construction of the Romulo interconnector by starting to lay the first submarine cable for the HVDC electricity link between the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, running between Sagunto (Valencia) and Santa Ponsa (Majorca).
Q1 2011Cable Installation Complete
By the first quarter of 2011, Red Eléctrica de España had completed laying all three 237‑kilometre submarine direct‑current cables between Santa Ponsa Bay (Majorca) and Sagunto (Valencia) for the Romulo electricity interconnection.
Apr 2009Onshore Construction Start
Construction of the converter stations for the ROMULO HVDC interconnection between the Morvedre and Santa Ponsa substations, developed by Red Eléctrica, began in April 2009 as part of the overall engineering and construction phase of the link between the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands.
May 2007Converter Supplier Selected
In May 2007, Red Eléctrica awarded the converter station contract for the Rómulo Peninsula–Balearic Islands HVDC interconnection to Siemens, tasking the German company with constructing the converter stations at Sagunto (Valencia) on the Spanish mainland and Calvià (Majorca) on the islands as part of a package of works valued at a total of 375 million euros together with the cable supply contracts.
May 2007Cable Supplier Selected
In May 2007, Red Eléctrica awarded the submarine power cable contract for the Rómulo Peninsula–Balearic Islands HVDC interconnection to a consortium of Prysmian (Italy) and Nexans (Norway), commissioning them to design, manufacture and lay the HVDC submarine power cables, with the combined converter and cable contracts totalling 375 million euros; each company manufactured one 237-kilometre HVDC cable and half of the return cable, contributing to a total of 711 kilometres of cable for the link.
2004Early Development Other
Towards the end of 2004, Red Eléctrica de España began analysing and defining the new Rómulo interconnection between the Spanish peninsula and the Balearic Islands through detailed technological, electrical, environmental and economic studies, selecting a solution that would first unify the Islands’ two existing subsystems and then link them to the mainland grid.