Brussels, 06/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - During a conference on the Euro-Mediterranean energy partnership that was hosted at the European Parliament on Tuesday 6 January, the head of the MedGrid industrial consortium, André Merlin, promoted five profitable electricity interconnection projects between the EU and the Maghreb. These projects would give weight to a truly Euro-Mediterranean energy network at a time when the EU is trying to think of its energy policy differently - faced with the double constraint of energy dependence on the outside, and mitigation of the effects of climate change.
Ideal partnership. “Geopolitical necessity, economic imperative and ecological urgency are today asking Europe to turn towards the South and create a Euro-Mediterranean energy community”, said Merlin and Gilles Pargneaux MEP (S&D, France), who was sponsoring the event. “While there is concern in the east, there is hope in the south. The southern Mediterranean is Europe's ideal partner for creating a common energy space”, they stated at a press conference.
Win-win situation. The EU to the north, and the Maghreb and Mashreq to the south are complementary. In the southern Mediterranean, hydrocarbon and renewable (solar and wind) resources are plentiful, and with efficient electricity interconnections between the two shores of the Mediterranean, 15% of Europe's renewable energy could come from this region in 2030. At the same time, the countries from the southern shore would be able to take advantage of European know-how in sustainable energy, Merlin and Pargneaux stated.
The key issue is to link the two shores of the Mediterranean across solid electricity interconnections. This is what the MedGrid consortium hopes for. It has been focusing on these industrial and technical issues since 2011 and now has concrete results on the feasibility and profitability of interconnections between the EU and the Maghreb - the electricity systems of which are very complementary.
Five profitable projects. MedGrid has identified five profitable projects under the sea in two distinct corridors - each with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. In a western corridor, the most profitable project aims at strengthening the interconnection between Spain and Morocco - with a total cost estimated of €300 million. MedGrid is also focusing on a new interconnection between Portugal and Morocco, the cost of which is estimated at €600 million, and on an interconnection between Algeria and Spain, with an estimated cost of €750 million. In a central corridor, two projects are planned - one linking Italy and Tunisia via Sicily (estimated cost €775 million), and the other linking Italy and Algeria (estimated cost €900 million). (EH)