en.Wedoany.com Reported - Portugal and Morocco plan to study the construction of a subsea energy highway connecting the two countries, with a total investment of approximately €650 million, to be shared equally. Portugal's Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, revealed after attending a high-level meeting in Paris that she will soon host Morocco's Energy Minister, Leila Benali, to discuss the feasibility of electricity interconnection between the two nations.
According to a 2022 study by the Mediterranean Transmission System Operators Association (MED-TSO), the cable for this electricity highway will extend from the substation in Tavira, Portugal, to the B. Harchan substation in Morocco, covering a distance of 220 kilometers with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. The total cost of €650 million is to be split between the two countries, with Portugal's share at €325 million. However, the minister noted that this figure may be outdated, and a cost-benefit analysis is still required to determine whether to proceed with the project.
This project is not a new proposal. In 2018, Portugal's National Energy Network (REN – Redes Energéticas Nacionais) and Morocco's National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE – Office National de l’Électricité et de l’Eau Potable), commissioned by their respective governments, submitted a preliminary project proposal and financing model based on a techno-economic feasibility study, but the project ultimately did not move forward. At the time, REN CEO Rodrigo Costa stated that the company had an investment capacity of up to €400 million in 2021, but Portugal did not advance the initiative. In May 2025, according to the Jornal Económico (JE), Lisbon and Rabat held initial contacts on the matter, with the relevant authorities acknowledging that the issue was under study.
In addition to exploring interconnection with Morocco, Minister Carvalho's trip also focused on advancing energy connectivity between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. During her meeting in Paris with French Energy Minister Maud Bregeon, Spanish Minister Sara Aagesen, and EU Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, she specifically urged the European Commission to prioritize grid interconnection between France, Spain, and Portugal in the next budget period. The minister noted that Portugal has already increased its interconnection level to 15% through a new link between Minho and Galicia, meeting the European Commission's recommended target for 2030. She emphasized that Portugal is like an energy island, requiring greater grid flexibility, storage capacity, and resilience. Currently, the interconnection level between France and Spain is only 3%, far below the European target of 15%.
Minister Carvalho also stated that increasing interconnection with France would help shorten system recovery times. She mentioned that after a recent major blackout, Portugal relied on two power plants to restart autonomously, restoring electricity supply within 12 hours, which she considered a good recovery for an outage of that scale.
