Greece and Egypt are planning power cables across the Mediterranean

Wind farm near the Egyptian capital Cairo

In order to generate the energy for the cable, Copelouzos is planning to build solar systems and wind farms with an output of 9.5 gigawatts in Wadi El Natrun in Egypt.

(Photo: Reuters)

Athens Solar power even in winter when it snows: A power cable from North Africa to Europe should make this possible. A Greek energy company is pushing ahead with the plans. At the end of the decade, green electricity could flow from Egypt to Greece and from there to Austria and Germany.

The planned cable is to run from the coastal town of El Sallum in the extreme north-west of Egypt over a distance of 950 kilometers through the Mediterranean Sea to Attica in Greece. By today’s standards, it would be the longest and, with a capacity of 3,000 megawatts, one of the most powerful undersea cables in the world. The currently longest power line running through the sea is the North Sea Link between Norway and Great Britain with 720 kilometers and a capacity of 1400 megawatts.

The plans for the so-called Greece-Egypt Interconnection (GREGY) come from the Greek Copelouzos Group. The company operates power plants, is active in airport management, tourism and real estate development.

In order to generate the energy for the cable, Copelouzos is planning to build solar systems and wind farms with an output of 9.5 gigawatts in Wadi El Natrun in Egypt. From there, overhead lines will transport the electricity about 500 kilometers to El Sallum on the Mediterranean coast.

Top jobs of the day

Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.

The project is considered technically demanding because of the long transmission routes and the great water depths in the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Greece.

“With the planned cable, we will bring 3000 megawatts of clean and cheap energy to Europe via Greece,” says Ioannis Karydas, CEO of renewable energy at Copelouzos. “By doing so, we are helping Europe to free itself from imports of fossil fuels from Russia,” says Karydas.

graphic

A third of the electricity flowing through the line will be consumed in Greece, mainly industrially, and another third will be exported to other countries. The plan is to use the remaining third in Greece to produce green hydrogen.

According to calculations by Copelouzos, the power line could reduce CO2 emissions by ten million tons per year. The company estimates the cost of the project at 3.5 billion euros.

Initial plans for the project go back to company founder Dimitris Copelouzos, who developed the idea in 2008 of producing green electricity in Egypt and bringing it to Europe via an undersea cable.

>> Read here: Africa offers solutions to the current crises

In October 2021, the energy ministers of Greece, Kostas Skrekas, and Egypt, Mohamed Shaker, signed a memorandum of understanding on laying the cable. Copelouzos is now seeking to have the project included on the European Union’s (EU) list of ‘Important Projects of Common European Interest’ (IPCEI). This would qualify the project for grants and facilitate funding.

Turkey could try to prevent the laying of the cable

Germany could also benefit from the power line. Greek energy minister Skrekas has offered to supply electricity from renewable energies to Germany and Austria and submitted proposals to both countries to build a line. It could run through Albania and other Balkan countries to Austria and from there to southern Germany, Skrekas said at a conference in Athens.

The power line should have an initial capacity of three gigawatts, which could be increased to nine gigawatts. According to the Greek Ministry of Energy, talks with Berlin and Vienna about the financing and implementation of the project are already underway.

Solar system in Egypt

Since 2008, Coupelouz has been planning to transport green electricity produced in Egypt to Europe via undersea cable.

(Photo: Reuters)

The planned Greece-Egypt Interconnection is of particular importance. “This will make Greece a hub for green electricity,” says Energy Minister Skrekas. According to Copelouzos, the line could be operational in seven to eight years.

>> Read also: Shipowners compete for shipyard capacity for LNG ships

But there is a stumbling block. The power line is to run through a sea area that Turkey claims as its own economic zone in an agreement concluded with Libya in 2019. Greece and the EU consider the Turkish-Libyan agreement to be contrary to international law. It contradicts the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Nevertheless, Turkey could try to prevent the laying of the cable. Given the chronic tensions between Ankara and Athens, that is not unlikely. As early as the summer of 2020, Turkey launched warships in the dispute over the economic zones in the eastern Mediterranean.

More: The corruption scandal surrounding Eva Kaili has shaken Athens.

source site-12