U.S. lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration to support a planned high-voltage power link connecting the electricity grids of Israel, Cyprus and Greece.
Led by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), a bipartisan group of House members urged U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation CEO Benjamin Black on Tuesday to back the Great Sea Interconnector.
The planned undersea cable would run about 751 miles across the Mediterranean Sea, connecting Israel and Cyprus and then Cyprus and Greece. The project is estimated to cost more than $2 billion. The European Union considers it a project of common interest and has allocated 657 million euros in funding.
In a letter to Rubio and Black, the lawmakers said the project would strengthen U.S. partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean and help establish the region as a strategic gateway between India, the Middle East and Europe.
“The Eastern Mediterranean is emerging as a central hub for energy and infrastructure connecting Europe, the Middle East and India,” the lawmakers wrote, requesting a briefing to discuss the project.
“The United States has a clear interest in ensuring that this transformation strengthens our partners, diversifies energy routes, deepens regional integration and advances a transparent alternative to infrastructure dominated by strategic competitors,” they wrote.
The letter was also signed by Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Craig Goldman (R-Texas) and Haley Stevens (D-Mich.).
The Great Sea Interconnector is intended to end Cyprus’ isolation from the European electricity grid and allow the three countries to share electricity, including power generated from renewable sources. The project has faced delays and questions over its economic viability, but the European Commission continues to describe it as strategically important.
