A reliable electricity supply
AQUIND Interconnector will have a capacity of 2000 MW and it is estimated will transmit up to 16,000,000 MWh of electricity between Great Britain and France, accounting for approximately 5% of Great Britain’s total electricity consumption.*
AQUIND Interconnector will make a significant contribution to improving Great Britain’s security of electricity supply and achieving greater affordability by improving competition, making the GB energy market more efficient and enabling
greater energy flexibility.
Promoting energy market competition
Structural difference between the Great British and French wholesale electricity prices means that power through the AQUIND Interconnector is projected to predominately flow from the lower priced French market to Great Britain. This results in strong welfare gains for Great British consumers who benefit from a lower electricity price as comparatively cheaper French power flows to Great Britain.
Tapping into cleaner sources of energy
AQUIND Interconnector will help to integrate a greater proportion of non-fossil fuel energy sources and intermittent renewables generation into the Great British energy mix. It is also expected that electricity imported from France will have much lower CO2 intensity.* This will reduce reliance on fossil fuel power generation plants and in turn reduce Great Britain’s CO2 emissions from the burning of such fuels.
No overhead lines
AQUIND Interconnector will use well-tested and reliable cable technology. Burying the cable along the whole route avoids the need for the construction of overhead lines and
their associated visual impact.
Investment in energy infrastructure
AQUIND Interconnector represents a significant investment in the UK’s energy infrastructure and is being developed without government subsidies.
*BEIS, Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (2018), p.136: https://assets.publishing.service.
gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/736148/DUKES_2018.pdf
**RTE France: https://www.rte-france.com/fr/eco2mix/eco2mix-co2, BEIS, Updated Energy and Emissions Projections 2017 (2018), p.36: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/
uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/671187/Updated_energy_and_emissions_
projections_2017.pdf