Power grid operator IPTO has begun preparations to launch, later this year, tenders to offer contracts for the development of an electrical grid interconnection linking the Dodecanese islands with the mainland.

These tenders concern the cable sections and two converter stations of the Corinth-Kos interconnection, to serve as the main line linking this group of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea’s southeast with the mainland network.

The link is planned to be developed as a 900-MW High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) connection, the country’s second, following the Crete-Athens link.

Once completed, the Dodecanese islands link will replace six independent grids covering the energy needs of these islands. Besides providing a link to the mainland, the Dodecanese islands grid interconnection will also facilitate greater RES penetration, IPTO has noted.

The project will include two converter stations, one at a location near Corinth, west of Athens, the other on Kos, at the island’s Mastihari area, as well as two subsea HVDC cables covering a total of 380 kilometers.

The operator is currently developing two sections of a grid interconnection for the Cyclades islands, which, once completed, will link all this group of islands with the Greek mainland.