Four TSOs form ‘Green Energy Corridor Power Company’ for Black Sea cable project
Director General of Georgian State Electrosystem, Giorgi Gigineishvili, signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint venture by the TSO’s of the four countries. Image courtesy GSE
Transmission system operators CNTEE Transelectrica, Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE), AzerEnerji and MVM Electrical Works have signed on a joint venture power company to implement the Black Sea submarine cable project, an HVDC submarine cable to connect the power systems in Romania and Georgia through the Black Sea.
Romania will play host to the joint venture, signed during the 8th ministerial meeting of the ‘Green Corridor’ project, held between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary.
The Black Sea cable project was launched in December 2022 in Bucharest, Romania, and will see a 1,155km submarine cable run through the Black Sea to connect the transmission systems in Romania and Georgia, with an extension in Hungary and Azerbaijan.
Commenting in a release was Romanian Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja: “This energy infrastructure project is of major importance for Romania, for the region and for the European Union.
“It will interconnect the energy markets in the Black Sea area, ensuring the diversity of supply sources. The diversity of supply sources primarily leads to the strengthening of energy security and the reduction of energy prices for all consumers.”
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Minister Burduja added that the project will also contribute to the decarbonisation of the energy sector, as they will primarily transport energy from renewable sources.
“There are many complementarities between our countries, which leads us to this joint effort to build a far-reaching project that we all need,” said Burduja.
Weeks before the ministerial meeting, GSE in an announcement called the Black Sea project promising and technically and economically feasible, citing a study they commissioned from Italian consulting firm CESI.
The study was commissioned with support from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and financing from the World Bank to identify the possibilities and optimal methods for the project’s practical implementation.
According to GSE, the study confirmed the project’s feasibility, determining optimal cable capacities and a preliminary route for the land and sea sections, along with the development of a project implementation plan and procurement strategy.
According to Romania’s Ministry of Energy, the first results of a feasibility study for the project will be presented in Baku, Azerbaijan, during COP29 later this year in November.
Additionally, says GSE, environmental and social impact studies, as well as seabed studies, will be conducted from 2025 to 2026.
