Athens, Greece – Greece announced on Monday that he has completed the work in a submarine feed cable link that connects the continent with Crete’s island, a key step in its ambitious Plan a broader expansion of the network in the Eastern Mediterranean That will eventually include Cyprus and Israel.
The link of one billion euros ($ 1.14 billion) that covers 330 kilometers (205 miles) was connected on Saturday and is expected to be completely operational this summer, said Grid’s network operator.
The project, for which the European Union provided most of the funds through subsidies and loans, aims to strengthen energy diversification after Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Athens hope to extend the link with Cyprus and Israel, called the great interconnector of the sea, in the late decade.
The project is also a movement towards Crete that can replace the generation of energy based on fossil fuels with renewable energy, government officials said.
“Crete is becoming a central pillar for the country’s energy transition,” said Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou. “We are advancing with the development of an integrated network of electrical interconnections, strengthening our country as a strategic energy center in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
However, the broader project has been complicated by financial disagreements and Maritime disputes Between Greece and Türkiye.
Greece and Egypt also want to establish A separate submarine link In a similar schedule that would ignore the island of Crete and connected directly to the Greek continent, near Athens.
Submarine cables to Crete have been placed at a depth of 1,200 meters (almost 4,000 feet) and will admit a capacity of 1,000 megawatts using high voltage continuous transmission systems.
Supervised by a subsidiary of the Independent Energy Transmission Operator of Greece, the project involved private contractors Siemens Energy of Germany, the Greek Terna Construction firm and Prysmian Group Cable Company, based in Italy, among others.
