Greece tests Peloponnese-Crete link
Greece, Athens: The world’s longest AC cable system is functional, as the first power interconnection between Crete and mainland Greece was successfully tested.
Image source: Balkan Green Energy News
Greece, Athens: The world’s longest AC cable system is functional, as the first power interconnection between Crete and mainland Greece was successfully tested.
The link with the Peloponnese peninsula is 174 km long, of which 132 km are on the seabed.
Independent Power Transmission Operator, also known as Admie or IPTO, said the 24-hour test drive of its submarine interconnector between Peloponnese and Crete, the biggest island in Greece, was successful. Italy’s Prysmian laid 132 km of the link under the Sea of Crete. The remainder of the 174 km runs underground on both sides, making it the longest HVAC cable system in the world. It is the longest undersea triplex cable interconnection with cross-linked polyethylene insulation, while it has the biggest depth on the planet as well, as much as 1,000 m, the state-controlled firm said.
A second cable, to the west from the first one, is expected to be installed in the first quarter. The overall 150 kV project is worth $435 M (€356 M). It can cover as much as 34 % of the power demand in Crete. Admie secured a twenty-year loan of $217 M (€178 M) from the European Investment Bank in May 2019, while the interconnection is also backed with government funds.
Admie’s Chairman and CEO Manos Manousakis said it is now certain that the “energy blockade of Crete” would be lifted and that the system was switched on two years after the first contracts were signed. The interconnector will help the development of renewables in Greece’s largest island.
Of note, Admie is working on a $1.2 B (€1 B) project for an even longer cable, between Crete and the Attica peninsula, via its Ariadne Interconnection subsidiary. It is scheduled to come online in 2023 and boost the capacity to supply the island entirely. Crete is currently dependent on fossil fuel for its electricity.
Admie’s investment plan for the next ten years is worth $5.4 B (€4.4 B). The transmission system operator has just picked Mytilineos for the reconstruction of the Koumoundourou high-voltage centre. The project is worth $56.5 M (€46 M). The transmission hub will be connected both with Megalopolis and the future Crete-Attica line.
Source: Balkan Green Energy News