Nine countries agreed to turn the Mediterranean into a "green" energy hub.

The European Union will develop renewable energy in the Mediterranean

Representatives of nine southern European Union countries have stated that they are focused on extracting offshore wind and solar energy to turn the Mediterranean into a renewable energy hub and contribute to reducing risks from climate change. This is reported by Associated Press.

Energy ministers from Cyprus, Slovenia, and Malta, as well as the head of the Ministry of Economy of Croatia and representatives from Greece, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain, stated in a published declaration about working on joint cross-border projects in the field of renewable energy without bureaucracy.

They called on the European Commission to lead studies on the potential of renewable energy in the region, based on which subsequent decisions and actions aimed at moving forward in working on these projects can be made. The respective statement was made after a ministerial-level meeting of the so-called MED9 group in Larnaca, Cyprus.

The head of the Ministry of Energy of Cyprus, George Papanastasiou, said that the countries that are members of MED9 are looking for ways to generate "green" energy on marine platforms. In Europe, however, the amount of available land for such projects is decreasing.

Papanastasiou said that some countries have already implemented pilot projects of offshore wind energy in shallow water, the results of which will be studied by other MED9 countries to adapt their own installations. There are also plans for wave energy and floating photovoltaic installations, as southern Europe has greater opportunities for such technologies due to abundant sunlight.

Using tectonic movements for energy generation

Incidentally, a French company has offered to utilize an energy source that had previously been overlooked: tectonic movements. The French company CGG (Compagnie Générale de Géophysique-Veritas) proposed a solution based on its deep knowledge of geophysical phenomena, which will not only harness the potential of geothermal energy but will also produce hydrogen and green ammonia, two types of emission-free fuels that can prevent a crisis in the European automotive industry.