Subsea cable to bring wind, solar power from Egypt to Europe

Greece-based Copelouzos Group plans to build a 1,373-km high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) subsea transmission line to connect Egypt with Greece’s Attica region.

The company said its representatives recently met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, and Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker to review the status of the Gregy Elica Interconnection Project.

In October 2021, the European Network of Transmission System Operators (Entso-E) included the project in its 10-year Development Plan of the European Energy Networks (TYNDP 2022).

“Its inclusion in TYNDP 2022 will be the first necessary step that will launch the process of inclusion of this ambitious project in the 6th list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) of the European Union in the context of the interconnection of the European Energy Networks,” Copelouzos Group said at the time.

The 700 MW cable will facilitate the transmission of 9.5 GW of wind and solar power in Egypt to the Greece-Italy and Greece-Bulgaria electricity transmission networks. It will be deployed at a maximum sea depth of 2,527 meters.

“The project is expected to allow renewable energy exports from Egypt to Greece at times of high renewable enery generation and also vice versa contributing to a significant increase of participation of renewables in the energy mix and reduction of greenhouse emissions of the power sector,” Entso-E said on its website. “The project is rather complex since, besides its extensive length, it implicates various transmission system technologies, such as AC and DC lines, overhead, underground and submarine transmission lines.

The project will likely be commissioned in 2028, said Entso-E.