Photo: IPTO
Greece’s government-controlled Independent Power Transmission Operator started testing equipment within its new 1 GW interconnector between the mainland and Crete, the country’s biggest island. The Ariadne link is expected to be put into operation in the spring.
Crete is almost ready for a massive renewables deployment and switching its oil power plants to reserve or retirement. After linking Greece’s largest island with the mainland grid in 2021 through an undersea cable to the Peloponnese, Independent Power Transmission Operator has now started partial tests of the Ariadne Interconnection.
The new subsea high-voltage direct current (HDVC) power line is 335 kilometers long. It goes as deep as 1,200 meters below surface. The interconnector actually features two 500 kV cables with a combined transmission capacity of 1 GW.
Ariadne is one of world’s three deepest undersea links
Valued at over EUR 1.1 billion, the project dates back to the 1990s. Independent Power Transmission Operator, known for its acronyms IPTO and Admie, said it expects to commission the electricity link in the spring.
It is one of the three deepest interconnections in the world. The capacity matches the interconnector to Sardinia, which holds the record for islands. The Crete-Attica interconnection paves the way for renewable energy development and economic growth in Crete while significantly easing the burden of utility costs for consumers, the state-controlled transmission system operator added.
The contractors are Nexans and Prysmian. Each is responsible for one of the two cables while the latter also laid two submarine telecommunication lines.
State Grid Corp. of China bought direct 20% stake in new submarine power cable
A month ago, IPTO agreed to sell 20% of its subsidiary Ariadne Interconnection to State Grid International Development Ltd., part of the State Grid Corp. of China, which already owns 24% of IPTO. China expressed interest in the stake five years ago.
Ariadne is part of the proposed Great Sea Interconnector, formerly EuroAsia Interconnector. The corridor is envisaged to run from Crete to Cyprus and from Cyprus to Israel. The Crete-Cyprus project has been suffering heavy delays amid financing issues and ownership disputes with Cyprus.
French infrastructure asset manager and investment firm Meridiam agreed to acquire 49.9% of Great Sea Interconnector, Bloomberg reported last week, quoting unnamed sources familiar with the matter. IPTO will own 50.1%, the article adds.
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) and the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) are among the candidates to invest, too.
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