IFA 2000

IFA 2000 is an interconnection between the electrical communications of the France and the the United Kingdom.

The initials come from Interconnexion France England of a capacity of: 2000 MW.

It is about a bond HVDC under the Manche.

History

The first connection of this kind was brought into service in 1961 between the stations of Redresseur S of Lydd, in the county of Kent (the United Kingdom) and of Echinghen, close to Boulogne (France). The system was equipped with rectifiers with vapor of mercury. To reduce to the maximum the disturbances sailing magnetic compass of the ships in the vicinity and in spite of the overcost, a bipolar connection (with 2 cables) was preferably selected with a monopolar connection (a cable and return of the current by the sea). The cable had a 64 kilometers length and was used under a bipolar tension of 100 Kv and with a maximum current of 800 Amps. The transportable maximum capacity was thus of 160 MW, and the connection was baptized IFA 160.

This first installation not being able more to answer the increase in the needs for power, it was replaced in 1985 - 1986 by a new bond HVDC, IFA 2000 of a capacity of 2000 MW enters France and the United Kingdom.

Choice of the transmission with D.C. current

The French and English networks having both a frequency of 50 Hz, it was possible to consider a connection with Alternative course. However, one preferred a connection HVDC to keep an independent adjustment of the Fréquence in the two countries, and for better controlling the exchanges of power.

Description of the current installation

The two new stations of conversion to Thyristor S are established, one with Sellindge with the the United Kingdom, the other with the station of Mandarins, located at Bonningues-the-Calais in France. This bond HVDC is long of 73 km. The underwater, long part of 46 km, comprises four pairs of cables with 270 Kv posed between Folkestone (the United Kingdom) and Sangatte (France), each pair being separated from its neighbors by approximately one kilometer. The terrestrial part comprises four pairs of cable S of 18,5 km length in England, and 6,35 km in France. The underwater cables were hidden in marine resources by bury with an average depth of 1,5 measure, to prevent that they are not hung by the trawls of the boats as it was regularly the case for the first installation, which, for this reason, had an availability ratio hardly exceeding the 50 %.

Until 2001, this connection was exploited exclusively by EDF. Following the opening of the Gone of electricity to competition, it is exploited, since April 1st, 2001, jointly by French company RTE (Grid system of electricity), and by its British counterpart National Grid.

Assessment in 2006

This connection functions regularly with its full capacity of: 2000 MW. Its availability, envisaged in the beginning to be of 95 %, reached these last years the 98 %, which classifies it among most powerful in the world.

Since 1986, this connection allowed the exchange of 276 TWh, of which almost totality (97,5 %) in the direction France towards the United Kingdom, is the equivalent of the food of 3 million British hearths, representative 5 % of electricity available to the the United Kingdom.

Future prospects

Studies are in hand to still increase the availability of this connection, and to possibly increase: 1000 MW capacity of interconnection. It is however difficult to predict the future of these exchanges and the ideal dimensioning of the bond within sight of the evolution of the energy demand in Europe.

External bonds

Presentation by RTE
Presentation by National Grid

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