ElecLink is a privately funded interconnector between France and Great Britain
Unlike other interconnector projects, which are underwritten by electricity consumers, ElecLink bears 100% of the investment risk. The interconnector has been financed entirely through private funds.
ElecLink is part of the Getlink Group which, through its subsidiary Eurotunnel, holds the Channel Tunnel infrastructure concession until 2086 and operates truck and passenger (car and coach) shuttles between Folkestone (UK) and Calais (France). Nearly 500 million people and more than 102 million vehicles have travelled through the Channel Tunnel since it opened in 1994. This unique land route, which carries a quarter of the value of trade between the continent and the UK, has become a vital link, reinforced by the ElecLink electricity interconnector installed in the tunnel, which helps to balance energy demand between France and the UK.
Getlink completes its sustainable mobility services with its rail freight subsidiary Europorte. Committed to "low carbon" services that control their impact on the environment (the group's activities avoid the equivalent of 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 per year), Getlink has made the place of people, nature and territories a central concern. Further details on Getlink's activities and businesses can be found on its website here.
In February 2019, ElecLink was certified by the French and British energy regulators as a TSO.
ElecLink has received a 25 year regulatory exemption from certain clauses of European energy regulation. The exemption allows ElecLink to operate as a merchant interconnector while making significant contributions to social welfare in France and the UK through a profit sharing mechanism.
Identified in the UK National Infrastructure Plan as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn 2012 Statement on how taking advantage of interdependency between transport and energy infrastructure creates the opportunity to achieve these benefits at lower capital investment costs.
On 17 February 2012, the French and British Governments issued a joint communication addressing common energy projects including ElecLink.
“We acknowledge the importance of developing new electricity lines between our two countries in order to strengthen further the linking of our grids, improve the security of our energy supplies and facilitate the integration of intermittent energy sources. We encourage further studies to be undertaken on the interconnector projects currently under consideration, namely the IFA2 led by the Réseau de Transport d’Electricité and the National Grid …and ElecLink led by Star Capital Partners and Getlink”.
