Malta-Sicily interconnector project inaugurated

The Malta-Sicily interconnector project, designed to help diversify Malta's energy supply sources, was inaugurated on Thursday evening by Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi.
The project aims to provide Malta with access to electricity generated through sources located in Sicily, Italy's largest island and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and other regions in mainland Europe.
In his address, Muscat stressed that the government aims to embark on more energy interconnectors in the future, as part of its bid to transform Malta into an energy hub.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said that the choice to develop an interconnector was not simply technical, but also cultural, stating that at a time in which many saw the Mediterranean as a sea characterised by conflict and division, building bridges was important.
The event, Renzi said, was not a conclusion but a first step "because we have a lot of things to do together."
The Malta-Sicily interconnector project comprises a 120-km high voltage alternating current (HVAC) system capable of bidirectional flow of electrical power, transferring 200 megawatt of electricity.