The proposed Green Energy Corridor (GECO) would connect Azerbaijan and Georgia with Romania and Hungary through Black Sea electricity links, with transmission and dedicated renewable generation estimated to cost about €22.1 billion combined. The concept envisages delivery of up to 20 TWh of electricity a year to the EU, making it a long-term infrastructure proposal rather than a source of near-term supply.
The route would run from Georgia to Romania, with onward connections into the Romanian and Hungarian electricity systems. GECO envisages three 525 kV submarine HVDC cables, each with a capacity of 1.3 GW; the first link is targeted for 2032, followed by a second phase planned for 2036.
The transmission component is estimated at €14.3 billion, while dedicated renewable generation needed to supply the corridor is put at €7.8 billion. Together, the two elements account for the estimated total investment, with the project depending on a financing and cost-allocation structure suited to an undertaking measured in tens of billions of euros.
For regional power markets, GECO could make Romania a major landing and balancing point for east-west electricity flows and deepen Hungary’s access to renewable supply from outside the EU. The corridor could also interact with investment in Romanian solar power, storage, gas and nuclear energy, changing congestion patterns and the value of regional interconnectors.
Execution would require coordination across multiple jurisdictions and deep-water cable engineering. A parallel hydrogen-pipeline concept, estimated at €6.6–13 billion, could add optionality but also complexity. If built, GECO would make Romania and Hungary key nodes in a wider Caspian-EU electricity corridor, as the Black Sea’s role as a gateway for electricity and gas linking Caspian resources with Central Europe grows. The concept’s delivery depends on resolving its financing and cost-allocation structure.
