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An undersea cable linking Romania to Turkey will no longer be found in Romania's future energy strategy
A project for an undersea cable linking Romania to Turkey will no longer be found in Romania's future energy strategy, because Turkey is no longer interested in the endeavour, State Secretary with the Romanian Energy Ministry Corina Popescu said last Thursday.
"I do not believe in the undersea cable project, and I will tell you why. Currently, that is not a stable area. Moreover, because it is a project involving several countries, there should be interest from all of them. Turkey has no interest in the project, because it wants to increase AC power connectivity instead of DC power. I do not think Turkey will earmark funds for the project," Popescu told a Focus Energetic conference on Thursday.
She added that the project included crossing the territorial waters of Bulgaria as well, which would have made it even harder to complete. "The project will probably not be found in the energy strategy," said Popescu.
Romania's Energy Ministry is currently working on Romania's new energy strategy until 2030 that is expected to be completed this October.
In January 2014, then Romania's Minister-delegate for Energy Constantin Nita and Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz signed a memorandum of understanding concerning cooperation in developing electricity interconnections, allowing for the creation of alternative facilities for electricity exchanges between the two countries, including through undersea cables.
"Regional cooperation is essential to regional economic growth and development, to which end Romania is reaffirming its commitment to the development of interconnecting networks with Moldova, Serbia, Hungary and Bulgaria for consolidated energy security and energy exportations in the region. At the same time, cooperation with Turkey is important to the Romanian energy system in terms of capitalising on its export potential. I have discussed with my counterpart E.S. Taner Yildiz prospective interconnection projects," Nita said back then.
He also mentioned that the Romania-Turkey undersea cable project is of European interest "as it can substantially contribute to the development of the regional electricity market for its integration with the EU market, a solution for energy exportation to Turkey and adjacent markets."