Europe alliance commits $507m for undersea electricity link between Italy and Tunisia

Team Europe, a funding alliance of European Union governments and banks, has committed EUR 472.6 million ($507.3 million) for a 220-kilometer (136.7 miles) undersea electricity link between Italy and Tunisia.

The Euro-Mediterranean interconnector is planned to carry 600 megawatts.

It would run from the Partanna electrical substation on the Italian island of Sicily to the Mlaabi substation on the Tunisian peninsula of Capo Bon.

The ELMED project, which would integrate renewable power sources, is a collaboration between the grid operators of the two countries, Italy’s Terna SPA and Tunisia’s STEG.

“ELMED will improve energy security and economic stability in Northern Africa, marking a significant milestone in international collaboration on renewable energy initiatives while stimulating increased production capacity,” the European Investment Bank (EIB), one of the backers, said in a statement.

“Tunisia’s solar energy potential is enormous,” Marcus Cornaro, head of the EU delegation in Tunisia, said of the investments.

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