(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, JUNE 19 - The solar plan for the
Mediterranean "is the gigantic project on the energy front which
we aim to define within the middle of next year." The statement
was made to ANSA by the vice-secretary of the Union for the
Mediterranean (UfM), Sotiris Varouxakis, responsible for energy,
during the "Mediterranean Energy Forum" going on in Brussels.
"We're working on a road map", Varouxakis explained, "through
work groups on the following items: politics and rules;
infrastructure; industrial capacity; financial instruments". The
work groups focusing on the general plan and the energy
infrastructure are meeting today in Brussels in a joint
committee with member states to make some first conclusions. The
European Commission is also participating, "who especially after
the statement on renewable energies, aims to create a
partnership for energy in the Mediterranean" pointed out the
vice-secretary of the UfM. "Next year," Varouxakis added, "we
hope to begin the political agenda, so that all the conclusions
by the technicians can be approved by the 43 countries of the
Union." "The idea", said the vice-secretary, "is to have common
rules, not only to produce renewable energy for each country's
needs, but to export it and in this way finance the
infrastructures of countries which invest in renewable energy."
Right now the technicians' studies are focusing on methods and
objectives, "but we're working all together with financial
institutions such as the European investments Bank and we're
sure we'll find a way to get financing" for the huge project.
There are still no figures on the costs of the solar plan for
the Mediterranean, but "a part of the funds", the vice-secretary
concluded, will arrive from the private sector. In this phase we
are working with the associations of industries and we still
haven't identified the single companies who are interested.
(ANSAmed).
(ANSAmed).
