Israel, Cyprus and Greece agree to link power grids via subsea cable (updated)

Holding Admie Ipto SA

08/03/2021 13:11

JERUSALEM, March 8 (Reuters) - Cyprus, Greece and Israel on
Monday signed an initial agreement to build the world's longest
and deepest underwater power cable that will traverse the
Mediterranean seabed at a cost of about $900 million and link
their electricity grids.
    The project, called the Euro-Asia interconnector, will
provide a back-up power source in times of emergency, said
Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who was in Nicosia to
sign a memorandum of understanding with his counterparts.
    Cypriot Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said it marked "a
decisive step towards ending the island's energy isolation, and
consequently, our dependence on heavy fuels."
    The cable will have a capacity of 1,000-2,000 megawatts (MW)
and is expected to be completed by 2024, according to Israel's
energy ministry.
    With a length of about 1,500 km and a maximum depth of 2,700
metres, it will be the longest and deepest subsea electricity
cable to have ever been constructed, it said. 
    Calling the project a '2,000 mega-watt highway', Pilides
said the first stage is expected to be operational within 2025.
    It will cover three sections of the Mediterranean: some 310
kilometres between Israel and Cyprus, about 900 kilometres 
between Cyprus and Crete, and about 310 additional kilometres
between Crete and mainland Greece.  
    Greek power grid operator IPTO has started construction of
the Crete-mainland part, seen concluding by 2023. The Greek
operator and Eurasia have been working closely to make sure the
two cables link to each other efficiently, an IPTO official
said.
    The European Union has recognised the cable as a "Project of
Common Interest", categorising it as a project it is willing to
partly finance. 

 (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch, Michele Kambas and Angeliki
Koutantou; editing by David Evans)
 ((ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com;  +972-2-632-2202; Reuters
Messaging: ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))