EIB, Spain ink interconnector finance deal

An effort to connect Spain\'s electricity grid with that of France was aided this week with $220 million in financing from the European Investment Bank, according to a report of the United Press International (UPI). The EIB last Monday finalized an agreement with Spanish grid operator Red Electrica de Espana to underwrite its portion of 40-mile, high-voltage interconnector, which is meant to help end Spain\'s status as an \"energy island.\" The direct-current link, which will use a first-of-its-kind converter technology, will cross the Albera Massif in the Pyrenees Mountains through a 5-mile tunnel being drilled alongside the route of the Perpignan-Figueres high-speed rail line between the two countries. EIB Vice President Magdalena Alvarez Arza and REE Chief Executive Jose Folgado inked the financing contract Monday in Madrid. It is part of a larger, $440 million commitment between the two reached in October. The total cost of the project is $882 million. In addition to the EIB financing, it has received a $284 million grant under the European Energy Program for Recovery.