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Over recent years, there has been a technology surge in submarine
high-voltage direct current cables. Several new projects have opened or
are planned where 350-450 kV DC cables run for distances up to 1000 km,
to transport 500-1000 MW. Could this be feasible in Cyprus to smooth out
supply and demand peaks? Would it be possible to tap into the European
grid? Would it be economical?
The big question is to where? All political questions aside, the obvious
place may be thought to be somewhere in the south of Turkey; a short cable
would seem attractive. Unfortunately, this would seem doubtful, at least for
important quantities of electricity, because the Turkish grid system appears
to be weak along the whole of the south coast and could not support the
extra load. The same applies to Syria.
On the other hand, Lebanon does have grid nodes close to the coast, so
this is a possibility. Israel seems to be the most likely candidate, as it
has a well-developed grid and ample power reserves, even if it is slightly
farther away. Furthermore, Israel already has grid ties with Jordan etc., so
has experience in trading electricity. As a first estimate, a 500 MW two-way
link with Israel may cost about €400-500 million, somewhat less than an
equivalent power station.
Egypt is a less likely candidate because its grid along the coast
probably has insufficient extra capacity. The main grid is from Aswan to
Cairo.
Is it possible to tap into the European grid? Theoretically, yes, but it
is less certain to be economically viable. The nearest major node is in the
region of Athens which is about 900 km from the Paphos area. Now we are
talking close to a billion euros, even assuming the Greek grid could cope.
Various schemes, such as TREC, have been proposed to have a ring of a
single grid, with HVDC links, round the whole of the Mediterranean. If that
were to come about, there would be little problem to include Cyprus and the
other Mediterranean islands. Unfortunately, such an agreement is unlikely to
be signed in my lifetime, so it must be considered as vapourware for some
time.
There is one severe problem linking to any of our neighbours. Our peak
consumption time, when importing electricity would be most beneficial to
bolster our own production, is when the aircons are going full blast on a
very hot summer afternoon. The hic is that our neighbours will also be
experiencing a hot summer's afternoon and will be consuming a lot of
electricity themselves. Even if they have a surplus, the cost will be very
high. Conversely, when we have a surplus of generating capacity, our
neighbours are likely to have a surplus, too, and the tariff will be low.
Will it be economic? Probably not, but it would have a very important
advantage in security of operation if, for any reason, our own generating
capacity failed. This may be worth the price.
Looking a little further into the future, there is a possibility. Cyprus
does not have enough land for a 1 GW solar power station. If such an area
could be leased somewhere in a desert country and a Cypriot-owned power
station built there, connected to the island through such a cable, we could
have an available power boost when we needed it most, without having to pay
for grid electricity, while maintaining our independence. The cost for the
project would be very high, in the region of €1 billion for a 500 MW
installation, comprising about 10 CSP towers. The land area required would
be about 1000 km² (a little more than 1/10th the total area of Cyprus).
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