LUÍS FORRA/LUSA
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria de Graça Carvalho.
Submarine cable connection with 220 kilometers long would cost more than 300 million euros to the coffers of Portugal. “Preliminary contacts” between Lisbon and Rabat will have already been established.
The Portuguese Government will already be in contact with the Kingdom of Morocco with a view to the eventual creation of an “highway” of electricity that connects Portugal to the African neighbor.
The news is advanced by this Friday, which ensures that there have been “preliminary contacts” between Lisbon and Rabat, although the project is not on the table to be analyzed.
According to an official source of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, led by Maria da Graça Carvalho, the government may study the possibility of a submarine cable connection between the two countries, with 220 kilometers long between Tavira and B. Harchancapable of transporting 1,000 megawatts.
The work, according to the same newspaper, would have a cost that can reach the 325 million euros for Portugalaccording to a study released in 2022 by the Med-TSO-the association that brings together the operators of the Mediterranean electricity transport networks. Part of the costs could be supported by European funds, but A slice would always be paid by electricity consumers through monthly invoice.
The total cost would be 650 million euros to divide by the two countries.
“The reinforcement of the interconnections would only be robbed the Iberian system that is operated almost on island. It would come to provide a lot of robustness,” said the energy expert of Inec-Tec John pieces to Je.
“If we had no limits on financial resources or we had the just departure of support, from the point of view at the European level, it could make perfect sense of Portugal to have a connection with Morocco and not only have an interconnection with Spain,” which was the biggest concern in blackout that left us to dark April 28, told Je Duarte Cordeiro, former environmental minister.
But there is doubts about the effectiveness of the project to prevent a blackout. In addition, it would be very expensivesays Nuno Ribeiro da Silva, former leader of Endesa Portugal. “In a scarcity situation, the collapse of the system, the cable does not give us any guarantee that was enough alternative to support and endure a collapse of our Iberian system.” It also says that “it is not an economic rational solution, and that brings reliability and resilience to the national system.”
João Galambaformer Secretary of State for Energy, recalled that a study had already been started about the project during his term, but was never completed due to the reluctance of entities, namely on the Spanish side, in sharing data.
