A joint venture of the energy transport operators in Romania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Hungary backed by the governments of the four countries was set up in Bucharest on September 3, with the purpose of bringing "green" energy from Azerbaijan to Europe through a subsea cable laid under the Black Sea.

The document underlying the establishment of the joint venture company "Green Energy Corridor Power Company" was signed in the presence of ministers from the four member states of the Agreement between the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary, Focus-energetic.ro reported.

This company will implement the Green Corridor project, a direct current high-voltage submarine cable that will connect Romania and Georgia through the Black Sea, with an extension to Hungary and Azerbaijan. The cable is to have a length of 1,200 km, and the cost of its installation between Romania and Georgia is estimated at EUR 3.5 billion.

The joint venture was signed by Romania's CNTEE Transelectrica, Hungary's MVM Group, Georgian State Electrosystem, and AzerEnerji.

"This strategic project, strongly supported by the European Commission, will contribute to strengthening national and regional energy security, increasing connectivity in the Black Sea basin, and harnessing the potential of renewable energy," said Romanian minister of energy Sebastian Burduja.

Minister Burduja said that the feasibility study for the subsea power cable will evaluate the possibility of adding an optical cable as well, that will connect the four countries, contributing to the improvement of data flows and supporting the digitization of the region.

The feasibility study of the subsea interconnector project will be presented at the 29th UN Climate Change Conference on 11-23 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Sebastian Burduja)