Very inaccurate statement with some elements of truth, I'd say. (But then I'm not an expert, just an interested reader on the topic).
On the first point, Spain has not prohibited new solar projects. It has removed (even retroactively) most incentives to renewable energy production. This is in part because of the speculative bubble in solar investment caused by the previously existing incentives (production goals were overshot by a huge margin), but also, as others have pointed out, to pander to corporate interests (this is very clear in the way self-consumption is being penalized under new legislation)
As for interconnections with France, they have recently doubled their capacity from 1% to 2%. So the EU's 10% interconnection goal for all countries is still very far away for the France-Spain connection. I'm not sure about the reasons for this. There is on the one hand the very high cost of building connections across the Pyrenees (even higher now that they have to be underground due to environmental concerns); a traditional reluctance by France is also often cited, but OTOH I think France is much better connected to other neighboring countries, so I'm not sure what to make of this.
It's the "because" in the sentence that is completely wrong. It's Spain official policy to increase the interconnection capacity with France, due to the huge energy production overcapacity (over 200%) of the country. But it is mostly combined cycle and gas plants that concentrate most of the excess capacity and are way underused. See e.g. http://on.ft.com/1rt0XNG for more info. It's the use of all the gas infrastructure (including regasification plants, etc.) that Spain wants to "push" into Europe's market. The situation in Ucraine may well help with this, because of Europe's dependency on Russia.
On the first point, Spain has not prohibited new solar projects. It has removed (even retroactively) most incentives to renewable energy production. This is in part because of the speculative bubble in solar investment caused by the previously existing incentives (production goals were overshot by a huge margin), but also, as others have pointed out, to pander to corporate interests (this is very clear in the way self-consumption is being penalized under new legislation)
As for interconnections with France, they have recently doubled their capacity from 1% to 2%. So the EU's 10% interconnection goal for all countries is still very far away for the France-Spain connection. I'm not sure about the reasons for this. There is on the one hand the very high cost of building connections across the Pyrenees (even higher now that they have to be underground due to environmental concerns); a traditional reluctance by France is also often cited, but OTOH I think France is much better connected to other neighboring countries, so I'm not sure what to make of this.
It's the "because" in the sentence that is completely wrong. It's Spain official policy to increase the interconnection capacity with France, due to the huge energy production overcapacity (over 200%) of the country. But it is mostly combined cycle and gas plants that concentrate most of the excess capacity and are way underused. See e.g. http://on.ft.com/1rt0XNG for more info. It's the use of all the gas infrastructure (including regasification plants, etc.) that Spain wants to "push" into Europe's market. The situation in Ucraine may well help with this, because of Europe's dependency on Russia.