Red Eléctrica has today commenced laying the second of the three submarine cables which make up the electrical interconnection between the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. The Skagerrak -one of only two ships in the world capable of carrying out this task- has started to lay on the sea bed the first metres of cable (some 237 kilometres in length) which shall link up Santa Ponsa Bay (Mallorca) with Sagunto (Valencia). The connection of the end of the cable with the Majorcan electricity system was carried out with the aid of a team of divers, which brought it to the coast.
The works carried out by the Skagerrak are similar to those carried out by the Giulio Verne during the laying of the first interconnection cable (see press release). This ship departed Mallorca on 13 January and has already completed more than half of the route.
The Romulo project consists of the construction of the first electrical interconnection between the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. This submarine connection, which is Direct Current (DC), is made up of three cables of 237 kilometres each which reach a maximum depth of 1,485 metres. When it is in operation, the connection will contribute around 25% of the electricity that is consumed on the islands, which will allow the supply of the archipelago to be diversified.