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Power

Israel, Cyprus and Greece Agree To Link Power Grids Via Subsea Cable (reuters.com) 108

Posted by BeauHD from the record-breaking dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Cyprus, Greece and Israel on Monday signed an initial agreement to build the world's longest and deepest underwater power cable that will traverse the Mediterranean seabed at a cost of about $900 million and link their electricity grids. The project, called the Euro-Asia interconnector, will provide a back-up power source in times of emergency, said Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who was in Nicosia to sign a memorandum of understanding with his counterparts. Cypriot Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said it marked "a decisive step towards ending the island's energy isolation, and consequently, our dependence on heavy fuels."

The cable will have a capacity of 1,000-2,000 megawatts (MW) and is expected to be completed by 2024, according to Israel's energy ministry. With a length of about 1,500 km and a maximum depth of 2,700 meters, it will be the longest and deepest subsea electricity cable to have ever been constructed, it said. Calling the project a "2,000 mega-watt highway," Pilides said the first stage is expected to be operational within 2025. It will cover three sections of the Mediterranean: some 310 kilometers between Israel and Cyprus, about 900 kilometers between Cyprus and Crete, and about 310 additional kilometers between Crete and mainland Greece. Greek power grid operator IPTO has started construction of the Crete-mainland part, seen concluding by 2023. The Greek operator and Eurasia have been working closely to make sure the two cables link to each other efficiently, an IPTO official said. The European Union has recognized the cable as a "Project of Common Interest", categorizing it as a project it is willing to partly finance.
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Israel, Cyprus and Greece Agree To Link Power Grids Via Subsea Cable More

Israel, Cyprus and Greece Agree To Link Power Grids Via Subsea Cable

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  • Will Turkish Cypriots use Greek electricity?! (Score:3)

    by aberglas ( 991072 ) on Monday March 08, 2021 @08:31PM (#61138834)

    Or will Turkey build a separate cable to the north of Cyprus?

    • Re:Will Turkish Cypriots use Greek electricity?! (Score:5, Informative)

      by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Monday March 08, 2021 @11:17PM (#61139264)

      Or will Turkey build a separate cable to the north of Cyprus?

      Construction of a cable from Turkey to North Cyprus is already underway.

      The North Cypriot grid is already connected to the Greek-Cypriot grid.

      The Turkish grid is already connected to the Greek and Bulgarian grids in Thrace.

      When grids are connected, both parties benefit. The more the better.

      • When grids are connected, both parties benefit. The more the better.

        This very much. You have to have safeties and security in place. But there is nothing like having potential adversaries and friends sharing electrical power.

        Old Bucky Fuller was on to something http://www.geni.org/globalener... [geni.org]

    • The interconnect between Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece is ~ 40 years old. They were sharing their grids even in the days of Warsaw Pact vs NATO. So technically, Turkey can hook in into the same grid with no issues at one more point in Cyprus.

      This is a toy these toddlers have learned to share over the years. It did not go without hiccups - there were rolling blackouts in Bulgaria at some point 35 years ago because it overestimated the capacity it can contract out to the interconnect. However, they got it wor

  • You've got to be kidding (Score:4, Insightful)

    by stabiesoft ( 733417 ) on Monday March 08, 2021 @08:50PM (#61138892) Homepage
    Texas won't even inter-tie with other states to keep the lights on. Bravo Israel/Greece/Cyprus. Bravo. Please call Abbott to offer suggestions.
    • The Texas grid is more connected with Mexico, genius. But I suppose a bit of upper-class ethno-centrism is called for here, I mean why mix your power with the people you pay below minimum wage to clean your toilets and cut your chickens?

      • The Texas grid is more connected with Mexico, genius.

        LOL if you consider 150MW a grid connection then sure. That can do what, ... get power from 10 wind turbines? Also since it's a HVDC you can't actually use it to provide power if your own grid goes down as there's nothing to sync it to. In the meantime over 10 years ago there was a plan to connect Texas and West with a 15GW interconnect, you know... something that people would call "relevant".

        The real genius here is the ability to post on Slashdot without looking up what you post about or understanding why

        • The real genius here is the ability to post on Slashdot without looking up what you post about or understanding why your post may be completely irrelevant. We all bow to your genius here.

          Quiet you, he's doin tha lord's work, ownin the libs.

      • And yet I specifically called out a multi-cultural group of countries as a sterling example for what our lame governor/murderer should look at. Calling me a name when you have no idea of who I am. /. at its finest. And as the other poster pointed out, 150MW is peanuts. Absolute peanuts relative to the 35GW we were short.

        • And as the other poster pointed out, 150MW is peanuts. Absolute peanuts relative to the 35GW we were short.

          The invisible hand of the free market lifts all boats.

      • The Texas grid is more connected with Mexico, genius.

        Well there's your problem! Texas, realizing the need to cut all ties as part of owning the libs and drinking their tears, has shown the way to have a perfect and always functioning power grid. After a demonstration of it's inherently robust nature, all the other states realizing that Mexico is the key to a safe always on future, are all building power lines (with imgrunts no doubt) to connect with Mexico.

        Now just get rid of the cause of their little glitch - get rid of those cancer causing wind turbines.

  • 1.21 gigwatts (Score:5, Funny)

    by algaeman ( 600564 ) on Monday March 08, 2021 @09:02PM (#61138946)
    Now I just need to get my boat up to 88 mph (142kph).

  • FIBRE ? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    so where is the fibre ? I cant see it in the announcement but it would be pretty silly to lay a cable and not include some fibre at the same time

  • I do hope that they will consider the endangered green-spotted ticklefish in that area. They are known to be sensitive to electric fields and swampcrullers. The survey in 2016 suggested that there may be as few as 17 of these cute and delicious little fish remaining in the wild.

  • I wonder what sort of effects that has on the undersea environment for anything living down there?

    • Ever see a bird perched on a powerline?

      • How many powerlines carry as much current at those voltages as they're talking about? Also how many studies have been done on how birds who perch on the highest-power powerlines are affected by the electromagnetic fields?
        Also deep sea life is not avian life, and has been largely insulated from the effects of civilization by the depth of seawater above them.
        Species like sharks for instance can be affected by electrical and magnetic fields. I remember specifically the case of an acquarium that had a problem
        • To amplify McSwell's point,

          ever seen a bird perched on a power line, when the bird is surrounded by a conductive fluid with a conductivity of at least several percent of that of the powerline's material?

          Electrical fields don't penetrate well into conductors - and seawater is a pretty fair conductor (better than many "semiconductors" in their undoped state). Also, varying magnetic fields tend to distribute their energy between propagation and inducing eddy currents in the conductor. That is why submarines st

    • Scratch a liberal, find a fascist, ha? Some things never change.

    • 'affects'

      Damnit, I mean 'effects'. :p

  • It seems like a political move.
    Technologically it would make a lot more sense to link Cyprus to Turkey. And Israel to Lebanon and Syria (and eventually Turkey and Greece). But it seems these people hate each other so much that they prefer to waste money into an undersea cable than trade electricity with the "enemy".

    • Sure, but at the same time being dependent on an “enemy” is not a great idea. Honestly both inter-ties could make sense both economically and technically.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by vix86 ( 592763 )

      It's definitely geo-political. There is a video [youtube.com] from the CaspianReport quite recently that talked about the tensions in that part of the Mediterranean, particularly due to a reserve of natural gas below seafloor that Isreal would really like to tap into. Their sea rights are pretty limited though and I suspect that this deal is focused on somehow expanding their reach into the Mediterranean to get access to those resources.

    • Lebanon and Syria? I don't know how to break this to you, but these countries have been having... issues in the past few years and are basically failed states. I expect their electrical grids are in no condition to provide reliable power within their own country, let alone provide useful support to Israel's grid.

      • Israel was literally a failed state.

        Then we recreated it and the only thing that keeps it from failing again is ongoing infusions of sweet, sweet cash.

        We recreated it specifically to foment discord in the region. It has worked brilliantly, but at the cost of humanity.

        • Right. Did you get tired of posting swastikas anonymously or something?

          • If facts frighten you, perhaps Slashdot is not for you.

            Here's a fact for you: AFAICT from my family history, I'm a crypto-jew.

            Here's another one: You can be anti-Zionist without being an anti-semite.

            But if this is too complicated for you, I'm sure we can find a website appropriate to your level of cogitation. Maybe something with beanie babies.

            • Here's another one: You can be anti-Zionist without being an anti-semite.

              Maybe in theory. But it has never happened. Plenty of antisemitic jews out there. I've met them. "I am jewish" does not mean "I don't hate jews."

              But if this is too complicated for you, I'm sure we can find a website appropriate to your level of cogitation. Maybe something with beanie babies.

              If I had a penny for every idiot who thinks they smarter than I am I would have as many pennies as I would for antisemite who pretends to be "antizionist." You hate because you have fun hating. The rest is just excuses. You are a fascist.

              • I love the fact that you know GP well enough to know they’re an anti-semite, yet you have no idea who they are or what their motivation is.

                You were simply raised to believe all criticism of Israel is anti-semitism, regardless of who says what.

                • Not to mention that my posting history makes clear that I am antifascist...

                  • You claim to be an antifascist and it's impossible for you to be antisemitic. Except you are antisemitic and you are a fascist. I am judging based on what you say, not based on what you think I should think of you.

                    • You claim to be an antifascist and it's impossible for you to be antisemitic.

                      No, it's possible. It's just a dumb assertion when you don't know shit about me.

                      Except you are antisemitic and you are a fascist.

                      Except being anti-Zionist doesn't make you anti-semitic, no matter how much you cry about it.

                      I am judging based on what you say, not based on what you think I should think of you.

                      No, you are judging me based on your own stupidity. Stop being a fuckwit about this. The way Israelis are treating Palestinians is just one half-step away from going full N@zi.

                  • To be honest, I find the people who usually reply with all the hate and vitriol, conflating criticism of Israel with everything from anti-semitism to wanting genocide, are actually very tolerant of true anti-semitism and abhor humanitarian and antifascist sentiments.

                    Witness the support in Israel for Hungary's openly anti-semitic Orban.

                • I love the fact that you know GP well enough to know they’re an anti-semite, yet you have no idea who they are or what their motivation is

                  I am judging him based on what he says. That's how this whole talking thing works.

                  You were simply raised to believe all criticism of Israel is anti-semitism, regardless of who says what.

                  Well, now who is trying to attribute motivations to someone they don't know. Except you are going much further. You think you can know not only my motivation but also my upbringing. You are just guilty of what you are accusing me of. Your accusations are nothing but loosely veiled confessions.

                  • Well, now who is trying to attribute motivations to someone they don't know. Except you are going much further. You think you can know not only my motivation but also my upbringing.

                    Well, to be honest it seemed much kinder than suggesting that as an adult you investigated the Israel-Palestine conflict, discovered the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of people along with the ongoing apartheid conditions, mass murder, infanticide and racism that Israel and Israelis practice daily and said "I'm picking the racist team to back!"

                    Please tell me that the above is the case and I will accept I am wrong.

                    • Well, as long as you need to perpetuate the Big Lie about Israel, there is no reason to think that you are not taking pleasure in telling that lie. And as long as you are taking pleasure in denigrating the only Jewish state, I'll continue to think that you are doing it because you find it emotionally appealing. So are an anti-semite. The reason it was so easy to tell who you were is that you are not that original. These types of excuses that people put forward for their antisemitism have been used for s

                    • Well, as long as you need to perpetuate the Big Lie about Israel

                      What's the big lie, that they're acting like N@zis? I think it's got a degree of truth to it; they haven't gone Full N@zi, but they aren't in the same situation as the N@zis, either. From where I'm sitting, if they thought they could get away with it, they would go full ethnic cleansing. The things they do that harm only people trying to live their lives but do nothing to the militants that launch the missiles pretty well proves that. Bulldozing greenhouses and settlements to build their own illegal settlem

                    • What's the big lie, that they're acting like N@zis?

                      Yes, that's a Big Lie.

                    • I like how your post ignored what I said and attempted to build a straw man. And of course the constant projection - “you’re racist” when all I’ve done is point out historical and current facts. With the “big lie” BS you sound like a QAnon conspiracy theorist.

                      I also have to add, I also criticise the only Russian state and the only Chinese state. Somehow I’m not anti-Chine or anti-Russian. Your arguments are old and flat and your constant attempts to silence all

                    • It really depends on which stage of N@zis you compare them to.

                      They have not gone full-blown N@zi, but they are doing much of what they did at first.

                      The only way in which they're not acting like the N@zis is that they're not impatient. The N@zis were a flash in the pan. Judaism goes back thousands of years. They were killing every first born son [aish.com] when the Germans were still wearing animal skins and howling at the moon. And some are still making excuses for that. It's easy to see why some people are a little c

  • In 2027 the Australia-Singapore Power Link [wikipedia.org] cable will be commissioned - 10 GW solar plant and 30 GWh battery feeding a 3750 km 3 GW cable from Darwin to Singapore.

    • Hmm. Wondering what route they'd take. After the flank collapse on Anak Krakatu last year (two years ago? Something like that. A few hundred dead.), I'd avoid that channel. So, between Java and Bali, or between Bali and Komodo ... Nope, I need a map. The one in my head isn't detailed enough.

      No route details from that link. Oh well, where is my bathymetry GIS programme?

      • Nowhere near it [suncable.sg].

        • So, yes they're avoiding the west-of-Java route and going between Lombok and Sumbawa, or Sumbawa and Flores, thence straight across the Java Sea towards the Malay peninsula.A lot of that last 1600km, they're going to have to entrench the cable, because the average depth is only 46m, and a lot is in the 20-30m range. Now, that is wholly do-able - seabed trenching cable-lay barges are a 40 year mature technology. But it is going to increase the cost. At 30m, fishing a seabed cable for the copper is a fairly d
  • This is the 1st project that sounds like it's from 21st century.

  • Seems like a bad idea. If Israel relies on power from the others, this now becomes a prime extra-territorial target for Israel's enemies.

    • Why do you think they worked quite hard to find and develop the Tamar [wikipedia.org] gas field? I worked on that one. Difficult drilling.

  • Hot diggity!!! (Score:3)

    by trailerparkcassanova ( 469342 ) on Tuesday March 09, 2021 @01:46PM (#61141022)
    This will beat throwing an electric fan in the water to catch fish.

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