The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has made a comprehensive decision for the development of Interconnexion France-Angleterre (IFA2) project.
The decision was made under the TEN-E Regulations, after MMO obtained all of the required statutory consents in UK consenting regime.
The IFA2 interconnector, carried out by National Grid IFA2 Ltd and RTE, is a 1,000 MW high voltage direct current (HVDC) link, which will run from Normandy in France to Hampshire in England.
MMO senior marine licensing manager Matthew Kinmond said:
“This is the first comprehensive decision from the MMO under the TEN-E Regulations and the first in the UK for a cross-border and multiple consenting regime interconnector project. It represents a major milestone for the IFA2 project.”
Dave Luetchford head of IFA2 from National Grid said:
“Enhancing Great Britain’s energy connection to France will bring a number of benefits, including increasing security of electricity supplies for both countries and providing opportunities for shared use of renewable energy.”
IFA2 aims to be operational by 2020.