HVDC Land and Submarine Cables in the Mediterranean Area

The Countries of the Mediterranean area are to be considered the cradle of the modern civilization. Through over 3 millennia different civilizations have succeeded and even systematic wars for the dominance among the peoples have succeeded until a few tens of years ago. In recent decades, the situation seems to be normalized and, apart from a few outbreaks still active in a specific area, everywhere else people enjoy a period of peace and prosperity that it has never had in previous history. These conditions are the basis for a better communication and exchange among neighbouring Countries. In particular the possibility to exchange energy resources is one of the topics best suited to offer mutual benefits to the community. The transmission of electricity by means of HVDC cable systems is particularly suited to interconnect different Countries over long distances, both terrestrial and submarine. This paper is describing the principle of HVDC submarine and land cable transmission, the available cable technology, some reference realized projects in the Mediterranean area and the planned future projects including some references to the complexity of the installation conditions.