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A more competitive energy market and cost savings for households, electricity prices and the economy. This is the promise made yesterday by the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, after the 2nd Summit on Energy Interconnection held in Lisbon in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. which culminated in the signing of a European funding agreement of 578 million euros to start the construction of a new electrical connection between Spain and France. Costa recalls the goals of reaching 10% of the electricity interconnection capacity between the Iberian Peninsula and France by 2020 and 15% by 2030.
As for the first objective , the European Commission, by the voice of Miguel Arias Cañete, does not have "The way to go is still long and we do not achieve the objectives of the European Council," said the Commissioner at the conference press release.
Portugal hosted the summit and will be one of the main beneficiaries of this future highway of electricity that will open between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe: it will be able to export more renewable energy, import less expensive energy from the European center and thus reduce the price of electricity. Costa also recalled the energy cooperation with North Africa and the new interconnection with Morocco, valued at 700 million euros.
In his speech, Macron took advantage of the Lisbon crossing to announce that the country will close all coal trading by 2022 as part of a national energy transition strategy which will be presented by the government of Paris this autumn. Already on nuclear, he also reiterated that France had planned the "effective closure" of a nuclear power station "during this term". But he warned that the focus is mainly on the massive reduction of pollutant emissions that result from coal-fired plants. "I will not be able to shut down nuclear power plants and then open new coal plants or increase dependence on foreign gas."
In the morning, the French president visited the Gulbenkian Foundation with Costa for a meeting with the citizens. challenges of the European Union. The European elections are scheduled for May 2019.
"I will not be able to shut down nuclear power plants and then open new coal-fired power plants or increase dependence on foreign gas."
On the nuclear, Sánchez follows Macron and stressed the need to "guarantee energy security of Spain", which implies commitment to renewable energy, but also nuclear power plants, such as Almaraz , which promised to transmit to Portugal all information on "the present and the future". located near the border. "The prices of electricity are already high for citizens and for businesses, can not increase more," said the Spanish Prime Minister, justifying the maintenance of the bet on nuclear power. Macron and Sánchez both insisted on the importance of maintaining stability and not allowing the rise in energy prices.
European Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete and the Vice President of the European Investment Bank attended the summit. Emma Navarro, has resulted in the signing of the EU funding agreement under the mechanism for interconnection in Europe of 578 million euros to allow the construction of the European Union. a new electrical interconnection in 2019 (about 300 kilometers high by the sea) across the Bay of Biscay. This is the largest amount of funding ever allocated to an energy infrastructure project, they said. "With 280 kilometers, this interconnection will double the capacity of exchange between France and Spain by 2025 and brings France closer to the interconnection goal of 15 % set by European Council (instead of the current level of 6%), and will integrate the entire Iberian Peninsula into the internal electricity market, "announced the European Commission in a statement.
In addition to the European funds, the interconnection The Bay of Biscay should also receive additional funding from the European Investment Bank, in order to be able to achieve it. Emma Navarro confirmed yesterday that discussions have already begun to reach the value that the EIB will contribute to this project. Over the last decade, the European bank has financed interconnections in the three countries worth 3600 million euros
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