NICOSIA — Cyprus launched an EU-funded project on Friday to link the eastern Mediterranean island to the European electricity grid via an undersea power cable billed as the world’s longest and deepest.
The European Union has approved 757 million euros ($736 million) in funding for the 1,200 kilometer (750 mile) cable to Greece, which will end the island’s “energy isolation” as the only member state without any gas or electricity connection.
The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, has said the “898 kilometers of undersea cables and maximum sea depth of 3,000 meters will set new world records for a project of this kind.”
Speaking at the launch ceremony, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said the surge in energy costs sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year had underlined the project’s importance.
Simson said it would help Europe diversify its sources of energy and boost its energy security. She told the East Mediterranean Gas Forum conference in the Cypriot capital that the region can play an increasingly important role as a short- to medium-term supplier of gas and pointed to a June deal for Israel to send more gas to EU countries through Egypt, which has facilities to liquefy it for export by sea.
The East Mediterranean Gas Forum was established three years ago by Greece, Egypt, Italy, Israel, Cyprus, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan as a vehicle to promote energy cooperation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (5th-R) poses for a group photo with the EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson (7th-R), Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla (6th-R), Israeli Minister of Energy Karine Elharrar (4th-R), and other officials during the signing ceremony of a trilateral natural gas deal during the ministerial meeting of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) in Cairo on June 15, 2022. (Khaled Desouki / AFP)
“In the current energy crisis, the importance of the project is highlighted more than ever. I am deeply convinced that we can weather the storm, but only if we work together,” said Simson.
The commissioner said the only lasting solution to the EU’s conundrum amid the energy crunch brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a speedy transition to renewables.
“Our reliable and trusted energy partners in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond will be relevant to help Europe to replace every last molecule of Russian gas to achieve a more resilient power system and a true Energy Union,” Simson said.
The EU has already been successful in recent months in weaning itself off Russian gas, replacing 43 billion cubic meters (1.5 trillion cubic feet) of Russian gas by end of August with 45 billion cubic meters (1.56 trillion cubic feet) of liquefied natural gas and pipeline supplies.
Simson said the Mediterranean region has a high potential to generate renewable hydrogen and that the EU has accelerated efforts to add 22 million tons of hydrogen to its energy mix by 2030.
She said negotiations with Cairo on hydrogen generation are being finalized ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt next month.
Hydrogen can be generated by using renewable electricity to extract it from water.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the day was “historic” and hailed the start of work to build a 2,000-megawatt undersea electricity cable that will link the power grids of Israel, Cyprus and Greece.
The “EuroAsia Interconnector” is touted as the world’s longest and deepest subsea electricity cable, at 1,208 km (750 miles) and 3,000 m (1.9 miles) respectively.
I could only characterise this day as historic, since, after years of deliberations and hard-work, we are now in a position to proceed with the construction phase of the #EuroAsiaInterconnectoran emblematic project of great geopolitical, strategic and national importance. pic.twitter.com/oL5zCeXG4u
– Nicos Anastasiades (@AnastasiadesCY) October 14, 2022
The cable will cost roughly 1.6 billion euros ($1.56 billion) with the EU providing a little under half of that in funding.
The cable will have a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, expandable to 2,000 MW.
Construction is scheduled to start this year and be completed in 2027, with an operating horizon in the first half of 2028.
Anastasiades said Cyprus could become a net exporter of electricity at capacities ranging from 120 gigawatt hours in 2027 to 1,000 in 2030, and exceeding 1,800 in 2033.
