WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1234/97 by Laura GONZÁLEZ ÁLVAREZ to the Commission. Cable in Tarifa
Date: 1997-04-07
Institutions: European Parliament, GONZALEZ ALVAREZ
Subjects: European Regional Development Fund, Morocco, Spain, electric cable, electrical energy, energy grid, energy transport, export, nuclear energy, trans-European network













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91997E1234

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1234/97 by Laura GONZÁLEZ ÁLVAREZ to the Commission. Cable in Tarifa  


Official Journal C 391 , 23/12/1997 P. 0056 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1234/97 by Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (7 April 1997)Subject: Cable in TarifaThe ERDF is funding a measure, under the Community initiative programme Interreg II (Spain-Morocco), which involves the construction of a high-voltage cable (400 000 volts) to transfer energy from Spain to Morocco.One of the districts through which the cable runs on its way to Morocco is Tarifa (in Andalusia, Spain) and, because it passes near a residential estate, there has been a hostile reaction locally.Is the energy transferred via this cable of nuclear origin? If so, and bearing in mind the denuclearization policies emerging in some Member States, is there any Community legislation limiting transfers of this type of energy?How was the mandatory environmental impact assessment carried out and was account taken of expert studies which regard the installation of high-voltage networks in residential areas as extremely damaging to health?Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (5 June 1997)The project to provide an electrical interconnection between Spain and Morocco was included on the list of the projects of common interest proposed by the Commission under the guidelines on the trans-European energy networks and was designated as a project of common interest by Decision No 1254/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 1996 ((OJ L 161, 29.6.1996. )).In most European countries, energy is generated in power stations of various types (hydro-electric, thermal, oil or gas fired, nuclear, wind, etc.) which feed the distribution grid. The electric power that Spain will export to Morocco will be of mixed origin from various sources, the relative proportions of which will vary depending on the season, the fuel price and the availability of the various types of production.The Commission would point out that there is no Community legislation limiting the transfer of energy of nuclear origin.The environmental impact report was provided by the national authority, the ministry of public works, transport and the environment, and approved by the Commission.The Commission would also point out that the lines do not cross inhabited areas and that Tarifa is more than 1 400 metres from those lines. At such distances, risks to health from overhead power lines are negligible, both as regards thermal effects (e.g. shock reactions from spark discharges) and as regards alleged non-thermal effects (tumour promotion or co-promotion, developmental effects), in respect of which some studies, which have not been confirmed or which have been contradicted by others, have shown an association with electromagnetic fields under certain conditions.