THE Vertical Corridor is the next visionary project for the energy development of the region, underlined the US Undersecretary of State for Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyattspeaking at the East Macedonia & Thrace Forum, organized for the second year by City Hub Events of the Alter Ego group in collaboration with Tsomokos Communications, in Alexandroupoli.

“Using the existing infrastructure from Greece to Ukrainethe Vertical Corridor will allow LNG imported through Greece to fill the huge storage tanks in Ukraine, providing a new source of natural gas for central Europe and the Western Balkans, helping to reduce price volatility along the way,” he said. Mr. Pyatt pointing out the criticality of the project which will support, as he said, the EU’s intention to completely disconnect from Russian natural gas by 2027.

Like the IGB and its FSRU Alexandroupolis, the Vertical Corridor will one day be seen as a project whose goal of South-North connectivity is so obvious that the required investment and political commitment is not up for debate, Mr Pyatt underlined. In this context, he pointed out that both the current US ambassador Giorgos Tsounis and his team in Athens as well as his own team in Washington have focused on how they can contribute to the promotion of this project.

He referred to its energy dynamics Eastern Macedonia and Thrace pointing out that with projects such as the FSRU in Alexandroupolis, the region is “moving further to the center of Greece’s energy security efforts, as the country’s LNG import capacity practically doubled overnight”.

In fact, as he underlined, the Greek import capacity and LNG regasification remains absolutely vital for the region and forms the basis “for the next visionary project in the region’s energy development, the Vertical Corridor”.

They radically transformed the IGB and Southern Corridor energy landscape

Mr Pyatt said there was still a lot of work to be done in the energy sector, but highlighted the “many shared achievements”, such as the Southern Natural Gas Corridor and the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector Natural Gas Pipeline (IGB) and their importance for the wider region of SE Europe. “These projects were not just natural pipelines and new sources of natural gas but helped to ‘unlock’ the entire region and radically transformed the energy landscape,” he said.

He recalled, in fact, his last visit to the region as ambassador to Greece in May 2022, immediately after Gazprom cut gas supplies to Bulgaria, which exposed the Balkan country to great risk and “confirmed that Putin’s Russia it should not and can never be considered a reliable supplier of energy in any form and under any circumstances,” underscoring the IGB’s pivotal role in the push by neighbors and allies to directly supply Sofia.

“The IGB proved necessary and confirmed that it was a regional plan that was visionary in ways that seem obvious in hindsight,” Mr. Pyatt said, highlighting ongoing efforts “to degrade Russia’s future energy production and export capabilities through sanctions, ensuring that Russia will never again be able to use its energy resources for coercive purposes.”

“Our sanctions,” the US official explained, “target entities involved in expanding Russia’s energy capabilities, including those developing new projects aimed at boosting global energy influence – such as Arctic LNG liquefaction facilities.”

“Putin’s cold war against Ukraine has transformed the energy map of Southeast Europe, and Greece is at its crossroads, which was reinforced last week by the courageous visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Odessa,” underlined the US Deputy Secretary of State, responsible for Energy Resources issues.

Offshore wind farms are a huge opportunity

Mr Pyatt also referred to electricity interconnections, which he said offer the prospect of greater flexibility, more energy sources, more clean energy entering the grid and more reliable and affordable energy for consumers.

In this context, he referred to the dynamics of offshore wind farm projects, pointing out that they are “a huge opportunity not only for Greece (the first two permits have already been issued in the area of ​​Alexandroupoli – Samothraki, with a capacity of 600 MW) but also for the whole of Europe ” and for Greece in particular, he noted: “Among Greece’s abundant renewable energy sources, the Aegean ranks high with some of the top consistent year-round wind speeds anywhere in Europe. It is therefore no coincidence that Alexandroupolis is the site of the first offshore wind project in Greece. Something the United States strongly supports. Offshore wind is a huge opportunity, not just for Greece, but for the whole of Europe as Greece lays the foundations to export its clean energy northwards.”

He also pointed to the need to create a safe, reliable supply chain for offshore wind equipment “given European and American plans for the sector as a pillar for achieving our climate goals”.

Not to be dependent on one country in terms of “clean technology”

In closing, Mr. Pyatt underlined the danger of relying on a single country for “clean technology” while reiterating the need not to repeat similar mistakes made in other energy sectors. “As we work together on the energy transition, Greece, Europe and the United States must not replace an era of dependence on Russian fossil fuels with an era of dependence on the People’s Republic of China to supply ‘clean technology’ “. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the solar industry in the offshore wind supply chain and become overly dependent on a single country for supply,” concluded the US Under Secretary of State for Energy.