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The desert sun hits strongly the dusty plains of Tunisia and Algeria. At first glance, they look like empty lands, but they could soon become a mosaic of wind towers, solar fields and batteries capable of storing as much electricity as to feed millions of European homes. It will not be energy for nearby cities: the Mediterranean will cross through submarine cables to light homes, factories and trains on the other side. The European Union has decided that its energy transition will not be built only at home: a good part of its green future will travel from North Africa.
A priority list. The European Commission He has just updated Its list of cross -border projects of renewable energy, incorporating five new plans that will have preferential access to the financing of the mechanism connect Europe (CEF) and greater international visibility. Among them, one stands out that symbolizes the new energy strategy of the block: Medlink.
According to documents cited by BloombergMedlink plans to install 10 GW of wind energy, solar and storage systems in Tunisia and Algeria. Electricity will travel through two high -voltage marine cables to Italy, with an annual capacity of 28 SWH, enough to cover about 8 % of the Italian electrical demand. The project, promoted by the Italian company ZHEROcould be extended to supply energy to Austria, Germany and Switzerland from 2030.
The European Commission establishes that, to enter its list, a project must involve at least two Member States or a Member State and a third country. With this update, thirteen initiatives are part of this special category.
Other in motion actors. The impulse is not limited to Tunisia and Algeria. Starting with Morocco that aspires that renewable energies represent 52 % of its installed capacity in 2030 and has launched six green hydrogen megaprojects. Among the companies involved are the Spanish Action and Cepsa, together with European, Arab, Chinese and American giants. These projects will not only produce hydrogen, but also ammonia, steel and green industrial fuels, bound for both international markets and the supply of Europe, According to data collected in Xataka.
For its part, Egypt has attracted billions in European investments for solar, wind and green hydrogen plants, much of whose production is destined for export. However, A report reported by The Guardian de Greenpeace He warns that this strategy could limit local decarbonization, keeping the country dependent on imported fossil fuels such as mazut, a oil derivative with high contaminating content.
In parallel, Themed also advancesan underwater interconnection project of 600 MW between Tunisia and Italy, independent of Medlink and centered on hydroelectric energy. With its scheduled implementation for 2028, it has financing from the European Reconstruction and Development Bank, the Green Climate Fund and the German Development Bank, As reported Enterprise.
The implication of this bet. In Brussels they see it as a double play: accelerate the green transition and reduce the dependence of Russian gas, which collapsed after the invasion of Ukraine. Italy gains weight as a renewable entrance door to the north, and countries like Spain They restore key energy relationships, as the agreement between Naturgy and the Algerian Sonatrach to set gas prices until 2027.
The European Commission defends that these interconnections and megaprojects are “essential to meet the objectives of the European Green Pact and reinforce energy security” at a time of global uncertainty.
Critical voices have not been long in coming. As they have detailed in a reponnet for The GuardianGreenpeace denounces that Europe runs the risk of “outsourcing” socio -environmental costs to the global south: intensive use of water in arid areas, displacement of communities and prioritization of the European supply on local development. Hanen Keskes, responsible for campaigns of the organization in the Middle East and North Africa has sentenced: “The global north must assume its responsibility and build domestic renewable capacity, instead of outsourcing costs to the global south.”
Looking to the future (almost) immediate. The EU has set the objective of importing 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen in 2030. Morocco wants to be one of the main exporters together with Algeria and Egypt, a trend that extends throughout North Africa.
In the European energy map, the south of the Mediterranean is ceasing to be a border. Under the sea, high voltage cables will join sunny deserts with industrial cities. It is a historical opportunity to accelerate the decarbonization of the continent provided that, as critics warn, the light that comes to Europe does not leave those who live under the sun that generate it in shade.
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