Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is pushing for an expanded and reinforced European grid that would facilitate the transfer of RES-generated electricity northwards from the continent’s south, energy minister Kostas Skrekas and the Greek leader’s special adviser for energy, Nikos Tsafos have revealed at the ongoing Power & Gas Forum organized by energypress in Athens.

The plan entails developing European energy networks for the transfer of RES-generated electricity from north African and southeastern Mediterranean countries to Europe via Greece and other southern European countries.

Electricity interconnections from Egypt and Tunisia are in the pipeline but their effectiveness would depend on the development of a greater number of higher-capacity transmission lines by EU member states.

The Greek proposal is based on data provided by ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators, according to which an additional overall capacity of 64 GW can be added at 50 cross-border electricity interconnections in Europe between 2025 and 2030, a development that would boost the European grid’s efficiency by 55 percent.

The Greek initiative, placing emphasis on the development of electricity corridors linking the continent’s north and south, would enable more consistent green energy supply all over Europe throughout the year. At present, scattered and differing RES yields generated by wind and solar technologies in various parts of the continent have limited reach.

An upgrade of the continent’s grid would enable continual flow of RES-generated energy between European countries of the north and south, maximizing RES efficiency.