Albania, Italy sign undersea cable deal with UAE as strategic partner

Albania, Italy and the United Arab Emirates agreed to install an electricity interconnector under the Adriatic Sea between Vlora and Puglia within three years. It is a major step toward strengthening energy sustainability and the ties between the Western Balkans and Europe, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.

Albania, the UAE and Italy have established a strategic alliance for renewable energy, according to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. On the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week gathering, the three governments signed a deal to install an underwater power interconnector and invest in green electricity production in Albania.

The cooperation includes Italian transmission system operator (TSO) Terna and Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (Taqa), Rama added. The link would run under the Adriatic Sea along the closest route, between Vlora and Apulia (Puglia), he explained.

Completion is expected within three years, the prime minister revealed. Rama praised the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who signed the strategic partnership framework on behalf of his country, for arranging it. The official is also the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. (Masdar).

Proposed Masdar-KESH partnership is for 3 GW of renewables

Rama stressed that Masdar and KESH, the Albanian state-owned power utility, aim to build renewable electricity plants of 3 GW in total in Albania, under a recent deal.

The agreement envisages green energy production in Albania for exports to Italy

He noted that his country produces 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. It relies almost entirely on hydropower, while the share of photovoltaics is gradually growing. Renewables account for 44% of final energy demand in Albania, Rama said and added it is at the top of the list in Europe in the segment, together with Scandinavian countries.

“I want to emphasize that Albania’s partnership with the United Arab Emirates in the energy sector is very important for a region where many wars, many conflicts, bloodshed, and many misunderstandings have already shaped our past, and where cooperation and the common desire to be part of the great European family must be supported by concrete initiatives and concrete steps to overcome the past,” the prime minister stated.

The interconnection project will be worth EUR 1 billion, Rama estimated.

Meloni: More interconnectors like Montenegro-Italy link are necessary

Italy wants to become a strategic hub for energy flows between Europe and Africa, according to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who also attended the signing. “If we want to make a real and sustainable energy transition, we must ensure that it is achieved with adequate infrastructure,” in her words.

The goal of the new agreement is to produce green energy in Albania and export part of it to Italy, Meloni pointed out. It is a major step toward strengthening energy sustainability and the ties between the Western Balkans and Europe, she said.

The prime minister highlighted the Monita underwater power interconnection between Montenegro and Italy as an example. It is part of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor. Albania aims to become a net electricity exporter by 2030.

Masdar is owned by state-controlled Taqa, sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc). Notably, Taqa expressed interest in 2023 in investing in a proposed underground high-voltage direct current (HVDC) corridor in Romania of 850 kilometers and in the Great Sea Interconnector between Cyprus and Greece’s Crete island.