Berlin, February 18 (QNA) - Germany, Latvia and Lithuania have signed a declaration of intent to develop a new electricity interconnector and offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea, in a move aimed at strengthening regional energy security and expanding renewable capacity.

According to German transmission system operator 50Hertz, the project – known as the Baltic-German Power Link – will connect the three countries via a subsea cable.

The company said it has been tasked, together with transmission system operators in Latvia and Lithuania, with drawing up an implementation plan by the autumn.

The declaration of intent was signed by Germany's economy minister Katherina Reiche and her Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the International Energy Agency in Paris.

The project envisages a roughly 600km submarine cable linking Germany to a landing point either in south-west Latvia or north-west Lithuania. A land-based energy hub would be constructed at that location, enabling the integration of up to 2 gigawatts of offshore wind power into the grid.

Electricity generated from Baltic Sea wind farms could then be transmitted either towards Germany or into the high-voltage networks of Latvia and Lithuania.

The initiative comes as European countries seek to deepen cross-border energy cooperation and accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources amid broader efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. (QNA)