The EU will spend a record €578m ($723m) backing construction of a 2GW, mostly-subsea link between Spain and France designed to increase the flow of renewable power across Europe.

The 370km Biscay Gulf link – running from the Basque region of northern Spain across the Bay of Biscay to a point near Bordeaux in southwest France – will almost double to 5GW the transmission capacity between the two nations.