As an “excellent example of Greek-French cooperation,” the Greece-Cyprus-Israel electricity interconnection project, Great Sea Interconnector, was described by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IPTO, Mr. Manos Manousakis, from the podium of the energy conference “2nd Energy Forum,” organized by the Hellenic-French Chamber.
Mr. Manousakis described the agreement with Meridiam for its entry into the project as “historic,” stressing that the Great Sea Interconnector is the second most important electricity corridor in Europe. As he said, the interconnection with Cyprus will put an end to the energy isolation of the island and the last non-interconnected state of the European Union with the single European electricity market and will facilitate the integration of more Renewable Energy Sources into its electrical system.
He added that the agreement with Meridiam is critical in order for a Franco-Greek project to be carried out, which Ursula von der Leyen has ranked as the second most important among the eight largest electricity corridors in Europe. In this context, he thanked Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy for its contribution to the maturation of the agreement with the French side, as well as the Hellenic-French Chamber.
Referring to the challenges the project has faced over the past period, he attached particular importance to the relations of trust with the French contractor company for the construction of the electrical cables. “Thanks to the cooperation we have with Nexans, we have kept the project alive all these years,” he commented.
The success of the interconnection between Greece and Cyprus, according to the Chairman of IPTO, will complete the interconnected European system and will lay the foundations for the deepening and densification of the European electricity grid to proceed, as defined by the Grids Package.
Greece, through the Operator, has already connected the Ionian islands, the Cyclades and Crete to the mainland system and will invest another 4.5 billion euros for the interconnection of the Dodecanese and the islands of the North Aegean.
According to Mr. Manousakis, “the electricity system of the future will be increasingly interconnected beyond national borders.” He explained that interconnections allow countries to share resources and reserves, deal more effectively with disruptions, integrate larger volumes of RES, and smooth out differences in production and demand over a wider geographical area.