Black Sea Energy cable could cost 3.5 bln euros - Romanian energy minister
BAKU. Sept 4 (Interfax) - It could cost 3.5 billion rubles euros to lay the submarine cable for the Black Sea Energy project to supply green energy from Georgia to Europe, Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said.
"The more routes we have, the more sources we have, the cheaper energy will become. The fact that the European states in our region will have access to energy from a totally different market like the one in the Caucasus will certainly lead to diversification of supply and cheaper energy," Romania Inside quoted him as telling reporters in Bucharest.
The feasibility study of the subsea interconnector project will be presented at the COP29 Climate Change Conference in Baku in November, Burduja said. "It is not a cheap project - we will find out the costs after the feasibility study is presented to us, but we know that 3.5 billion euros are needed to build the submarine cable between Georgia and Romania, and we also know that this project will be beneficial for security energy and for the market," he said.
Romanian power grid operator Transelectrica, Azerbaijan's Azerenerji, Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE) and Hungary's MVM signed the shareholder agreement to form the Green Energy Corridor, which will deliver the project, in Bucharest on September 3.
"This strategic project, strongly supported by the European Commission, will contribute to strengthening national and regional energy security, increasing connectivity in the Black Sea basin, and harnessing the potential of renewable energy," Burduja said on social media.
"The feasibility study for the subsea power cable will evaluate the possibility of adding an optical cable as well, that will connect the four countries, contributing to the improvement of data flows and supporting the digitization of the region. In addition, in the coming period we will also look at the possibility of Bulgaria joining this infrastructure project," he said.
Azerbaijan, Romania, Georgia and Hungary signed an agreement in Bucharest on December 17, 2022, on strategic partnership, which includes the construction of an energy bridge from the Caucasus region to Europe. This involves laying a 1,195 km Black Sea Energy submarine cable with capacity of 1 GW. A decision was reached in June 2023 for Bulgaria to join the project.
The power grid operators of Azerbaijan, Romania, Georgia and Hungary signed a memorandum in May 2024 to set up a joint operating company for the project.
Laying the cable will take three or four years. The European Commission plans to provide 2.3 billion euros for the project.
