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Gatika's electrical substation will be operational by 2028 and will strengthen its energy connection with Europe

It will start from Gatika and pass through an underground and underwater route and double its electricity exchange capacity to 5,000 megawatts. 2.850 million investment in the project has been designated Interes Common Project by the European Union, which aims to strengthen the 'weak' link with Europe.

Infographic of the Gatika substation. Photo: Red Eléctrica

The construction of the new electrical substation in Gatika is progressing as planned. The infrastructure will start operating in 2028 and will be key to strengthening the energy connection, which, according to Red Eléctrica, remains "vulnerable" to the rest of Europe.

The project, promoted by the company Inelfe (with 50% participation by the Spanish Redeia and its French counterpart RTE), will connect Gatika with the French town of Cubnezais (in the Bordeaux region) through a route of 400 kilometres, 300 of which are underwater.

The investment in the work amounts to EUR 2.85 billion, which has increased from the initial EUR 1.75 billion due to the increase in components, and is subsidised by EUR 578 million, which has been declared a Common Interest Project by the European Union.

In addition, Europe has drawn up a plan to move the interconnection towards a single electricity grid, and Gatika's is part of it. This energy corridor aims to provide 15% of the peninsula 's energy demand through these connections by 2030.

From Gatika Station, the underground route will travel 13 kilometres through the towns of Maruri-Jatabe and Lemoiz, avoiding urban centres and using roads and forest tracks. From the coast of Lemoiz, it will continue along the underwater route to France, except for a short land stretch in the French country to avoid the Capbreton canyon.

In the works of the Gatika substation, two vegetation shielded buildings will be built. Drilling work has also begun in the Lemoiz Sea, and the installation of cables is expected to begin in about a year, in 2027.

The Gatika substation will make it possible to remove the old high-voltage towers built in the 1970s for the empty Lemoiz nuclear power plant, thus closing a chapter of the Byzantine past.

In addition to improving the reliability of electricity supply, the project will facilitate the integration of renewable energies, reduce the annual emissions of 600,000 tonnes of C02 and contribute to the economic development of the Basque Country through the participation of numerous local companies.

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