Friday 26 January 2018
The EU has agreed to invest €873 million (£764.7m) in energy infrastructure projects.
It intends to upgrade and extend electricity lines and gas pipes, with the ultimate aim of delivering cheaper and more secure energy to consumers across the continent.
The funding, which comes from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), will support 17 selected projects.
This will include eight in the electricity sector, totalling support of €680 million (£595m) and nine in the gas sector, receiving €193 million (£169m).
Four of these will involve construction works and 13 will focus on developing studies and research.
A massive grant of €578 million (£505m) will be decisive in the construction of the Biscay Gulf France-Spain interconnection.
This new link is expected to nearly double the interconnection capacity between both countries, increasing it from 2,800MW to 5,000MW.
Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said: "Only a fully interconnected market will improve Europe's security of supply, reducing the dependence of single suppliers and giving consumers more choice.
"An energy infrastructure which is fit for purpose is also essential for renewable energy sources to thrive and for delivering on the Paris Agreement on climate change."