Strasbourg, 06/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - Thirteen European industrial groups - French EDF, Alstom, Areva, Atos Origin and Nexans, Spanish Abengoa and Red Electrica, German Siemens and Italian Prysmian - signed, on Monday 5 July, in Paris, a memorandum of understanding aimed at the creation of the Transgreen consortium, responsible for studying the feasibility of the high voltage submarine grid project under the Mediterranean Sea, linking Africa to Europe to carry solar energy produced in the south to the Community market. The Transgreen project comes within the framework of the Mediterranean solar energy plan, an initiative tabled by the European Commission in November 2008, which provides for the construction, to the south and east of the Mediterranean Basin, of renewable energy production plants (solar and wind power) of 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020. Investors in the project are counting on an investment of €8 billion for the construction of 5 or 6 submarine interconnections, totalling 5 GW capacity, i.e. 25% of the production planned by the Mediterranean Solar Plan. Piloted by the French energy company EDF, the Transgreen consortium plans to work with Desertec, the giant solar farm project in the Sahara of German origin, that hopes to cover up to 15% of European electricity needs by 2025. (E.H./transl.jl)