Red Eléctrica de España has awarded to the Norwegian company Nexans, for an amount in excess of 90 million euros, the design, manufacturing and future installation works of one of the two cables of the submarine electricity interconnection that will connect the Islands of Majorca and Ibiza. This electricity interconnection represents the unification of the two existing electricity subsystems currently in the Balearic Islands (Majorca – Menorca and Ibiza – Formentera). In addition, it shall allow the electricity system on the Islands to be fully connected to the Iberian and continental electricity market, thanks to the Rómulo project interconnection.

The electricity interconnection between Majorca and Ibiza shall be carried out by means of a 132 kV submarine link in alternating current. With a length of 123 km (including the 115 km of the underwater stretch), it will be the longest submarine link in alternating current in the world, and the deepest, as it will run at a maximum depth of 750 metres.

The link, that will join the substation at Santa Ponsa (Majorca) with that of Torrent (Ibiza), will be commissioned in 2014. At present, the project is in the early stages of the permitting procedures.

The electricity integration amongst the Balearic Islands and with the Spanish Peninsula is essential to ensuring and improving the security of supply in the archipelago, in addition to promoting competition within the electricity generation sector. Similarly, it will represent an annual savings to the system of between 35 and 40 million euros, and will provide environmental advantages given that the incorporation of energy from the Spanish peninsula into the Balearic Islands will represent a reduction of 10% in the actual CO2 emissions.

Red Eléctrica had already awarded Nexans part of the manufacturing of the interconnection cable between Sagunto (Valencia) and Santa Ponsa (Mallorca), the Romulo Project, whose installation was carried out during the first few months of this year.