National Grid’s fourth interconnector, IFA2, will provide enough clean energy to power one million British homes, adding to a portfolio of interconnectors that will provide enough zero-carbon energy to power eight million homes a year by 2030.

The 149-mile-long power cable runs along the seabed between Portsmouth and Caen will share sharing surplus clean energy between the UK and France. Furthermore, as the UK’s renewable energy capacity, such as offshore wind, increases, interconnectors will enable Britain to sell any excess renewable energy to neighbouring countries.

Despite the pandemic, IFA2 has remained on time and on budget. The 1GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) electrical interconnector is National Grid’s second link to France and is the result of a shared £700m investment, with partners RTE.

With the energisation of IFA2, National Grid now has four operational interconnectors – two to France (IFA and IFA2), one to the Netherlands (BritNed) and one to Belgium (Nemo Link). Two further projects are under construction - Norway (North Sea Link, operational 2021) and Denmark (Viking Link, operational 2023).

Jon Butterworth, CEO of National Grid Ventures, said: “While the world is focused on the pandemic and managing the knock-on effects on our lives, we know that progress towards net-zero can’t afford to falter and Britain needs to keep up the momentum in reducing harmful carbon emissions. The launch of the IFA2 interconnector, linking France and Britain’s power grids, is an important step in accelerating our progress to a cleaner, greener future.”

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