Joint venture established to manage Black Sea submarine cable project

The establishment of Green Energy Corridor Power Company (GECO Power Company), which will manage the Black Sea Energy submarine cable project, has been successfully completed in Bucharest, Romania, with the participation of transmission system operators from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania, and Hungary, Report informs.

According to a statement by Georgia's Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, this joint venture will currently be engaged in research and design activities for the green energy corridor. The purpose of establishing the enterprise is to implement the green energy corridor project, which includes the construction of a high-voltage transmission cable under the Black Sea.

Based on the Strategic Partnership Agreement and the Memorandum on Cooperation in Green Energy, a memorandum of understanding was signed on July 25, 2023, between the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary regarding the establishment of a joint venture.

The Black Sea submarine cable project is the largest infrastructure project that will directly connect Georgia and Romania, and in a broader context, will link the power systems of the South Caucasus and Southeastern Europe. The submarine cable will be more than 1,155 km long (1,115 km underwater, 40 km overland), with a voltage of 525 kV and a capacity of 1,300 MW. The project also includes a fiber optic communication cable to be installed in the selected corridor for the submarine power cable. The completion date for the construction of the Black Sea submarine power cable is set for 2030.

The technical and economic feasibility study of the project was conducted by the Italian consulting company CESI.

The project will help strengthen national and regional energy security, interconnect the Black Sea region, diversify energy supply sources, increase renewable energy production potential, and increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. It will also enable competitive pricing for electricity generation from renewable sources by combining regional energy capabilities.

The project has been included in ENTSO-E's 10-year development plan for 2024-2034, and in November 2024, it was submitted to the European Commission to obtain the status of a project of common interest as it is an energy infrastructure project between the European Union and non-EU countries and helps implement energy and climate policy objectives.