Spain and France are closing a long-standing energy gap with concrete steps to build two new electricity interconnections across the Pyrenees and to tackle the technical and financial details of the project. A bilateral commission is being established by the two governments to drive the effort and to explore a future submarine corridor for green hydrogen between the countries, signaling a broader push toward a cleaner, more integrated European energy system.
In Paris this week, discussions brought together Spain’s Vice President and Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera and France’s Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire alongside Regional Cohesion Minister Christophe Béchu. The meeting yielded a clear intent to advance energy ties, with a joint commitment to strengthen interconnectors and a plan to convene bilateral ministerial groups immediately to develop both electricity interconnections and a green hydrogen pathway.
Spain, France, and Portugal have already signaled a shared ambition to establish the EU’s first major hydrogen corridor, with Germany joining later. The initiative, dubbed H2Med, carries a substantial investment footprint, estimated around 2.5 billion euros, and is envisioned as a keystone for the renewable hydrogen transition that will substitute natural gas in sectors where electrification faces limits.
So far, gas transport operators, including Enagás in Spain, have focused on the technical design of pipelines and the overall financing framework, with partial funding anticipated from European sources. Enagás has projected the Spanish portion of the infrastructure cost at around 1 billion euros. The detailed cost distribution among the participating nations and the extent of hydrogen-driven investments remain to be finalized by the bilateral commission, which will address these allocation questions directly.
Three electrical interconnects are on the radar for Madrid and Paris, aiming to bridge the sizable capacity gap. Spain currently faces a notable shortfall in cross-border electricity capacity with France, with less than 3,000 MW available to carry power between the two nations, equating to roughly 2.8% of Spain’s own electricity demand. The plan envisions three new links, a move that had met resistance from France in previous years but is now moving forward with renewed political will.
One key milestone is a link to be established across the Bay of Biscay, which would lift interconnection capacity to about 5,000 MW at an estimated investment of 2.8 billion euros, with expected readiness in 2028 and a cost split between the two countries. In parallel, the teams are looking to progress two additional connections across the Pyrenees, linking Navarra and Aragon, with a target completion in 2030.
Teresa Ribera announced that the bilateral commission will push ahead with designing the routes for both electricity connections and determining a fair distribution of costs. Transmission-system operators in each country, such as Red Eléctrica in Spain, have already been working on technical layouts, and governments intend to streamline decision-making to settle the best options and schedules as quickly as possible, as described by an official brief tied to the discussions.
Despite these plans, the current level of cross-border electricity interconnection remains well below regional targets. The European Union has previously aimed for higher shares of interconnection, with visible targets of moving toward 10 percent by 2020 and 15 percent by 2030. With the Bay of Biscay link targeting 5,000 MW and the additional Pyrenees connections planned for 2030, the total could rise to about 8,000 MW. This outcome would still come up short of the EU’s preferred level, effectively keeping Spain in energy island status for the foreseeable future, with the 8,000 MW representing just under 7 percent of Spain’s current installed capacity. (Source attribution: EU energy policy brief and national grid planning documents.)