Greece’s island of Folegandros has been connected to the mainland electricity grid following the energisation of a 60-kilometre high-voltage subsea cable linking it with Santorini and Naxos. Offshore Energy reported the development, citing the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), which said the cable was now operating as part of the mainland system.
The link belongs to the Southern Cyclades electrical interconnection project, for which construction finished early this summer. The wider scheme connects Santorini, Folegandros, Milos and Serifos to the mainland network through Attica. It represents the fourth and final stage of the programme to overhaul electricity infrastructure across the Cyclades, with the Folegandros cable’s energisation marking a step in bringing the completed infrastructure into service.
According to Offshore Energy, the Southern Cyclades project has a total budget of €385.7 million and encompasses 294 kilometres of high-voltage cables laid both underwater and underground. Its infrastructure also includes four fully digital gas-insulated substations. The substation built to serve Folegandros is among those four facilities using gas-insulated switchgear technology, alongside the cable connection that now supplies the island through the mainland grid.
IPTO chairman and chief executive Manos Manousakis described the Southern Cyclades interconnection as technically complex in comments on 19 October. He said the work had strengthened the operator’s expertise and would complete the island group’s integration into the high-voltage network. Interconnections serving Santorini, Milos and Serifos were due to be energised in the coming period, he added, distinguishing those forthcoming commissioning steps from the Folegandros link already in operation.
Funding for the project combines European Union support and borrowing. Offshore Energy reported that it is co-funded through the Greece 2.0 Recovery and Resilience Facility, with financing also provided through European Investment Bank loans and additional resources from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.