An initial agreement between Cyprus, Greece and Israel to build the world’s longest and deepest underwater power cable has been signed but it’s only the beginning of a long road, Philenews reports.
“The signing (on Monday) of the memorandum of understanding is a commitment between the three states that they will work together to gradually license the individual state projects that will lead to the interconnection,” it said.
“In the end, it (interconnection) may go or may not go ahead since its viability will have to be re-confirmed through new feasibility studies. Before a final investment decision is taken a thorough Front-End Engineering Design should be provided,” it added.
The ambitious project, called Euro-Asia interconnector, will traverse the Mediterranean seabed at a cost of about $900 million and link the electricity grids of the three countries.
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.
The first stage of the project 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.
The European Union has recognised the cable as a “Project of Common Interest”, categorising it as a project it is willing to partly finance.
