To carry out the necessary infrastructure works will cost around€10bn ($13bn), according to a draft proposal seen by Recharge.

Additional costs for HVDC technology or laying cables undergroundare not yet included in that sum, the draft says.

“The rapid expansion of renewable energies, the gradual shut-downof remaining nuclear power plants and the construction of conventional (fossil)power plants at new locations require the transmission of electricity over largedistances,” the draft proposal says.