Regulators reject Spanish gas project MidCAT

French and Spanish energy regulators have rejected MidCAT project to build a gas pipeline across the Pyrenees to connect France and Spain grid. Both regulators said the Midi-Catalonia interconnector did not respond to market needs and was not sufficiently mature to get a green light from them.

Furthermore, they have pointed out that costs were "high when compared with European standards”. “The project’s cost-benefit analysis does not clearly show that its benefits overweigh its costs in the most credible scenarios”, says the joint decision.

3-billion euros MidCAT project was proposed by Spanish operator Enagás and French operator Teréga and had been listed by the European Commission as a “project of common interest” for the EU. However, the foreseen pipeline that would cross Catalonia had strong opposition on the ground and among green NGOs for its environmental and territorial impact.