Let there be a power line: why does the United States want to "light up" Moldova
In Moldova, a new high-voltage power transmission line is planned to be named after the American leader Donald Trump. The US government has allocated $130 million for the project. The American embassy stated that the new line should strengthen Moldova's energy independence, as well as expand opportunities for US companies and technologies. Why Washington took up this project and what geopolitical significance it has is in the Izvestia article.
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A new high-voltage power transmission line between Moldova and Romania will be named after the current President of the United States, Donald Trump. This was announced by the US Embassy in Chisinau on Facebook (owned by Meta, recognized as an extremist organization and banned in the Russian Federation).
"Last week, an important step was taken for the energy future of the Republic of Moldova: the Ministry of Energy, Moldelectrica, Black & Veatch and the US Embassy in Chisinau launched a working group on the Strasheni –Gutinas Trump Liberty Line project," the publication says.
The American diplomatic mission, in turn, noted that the project will be able to strengthen Moldova's energy security and independence. The direct construction of the transmission line is planned for 2027, and the completion of the project is expected by 2030.
The length of the line will be 190 km, of which about 70 km will fall on the territory of Moldova, and about 120 km more on Romania. The project is estimated at $130 million. According to the embassy, it will not only strengthen energy ties between the two countries, but also create additional opportunities for American business and technology in the Moldovan market.
It's going to be bright now
Over the past two years, Chisinau has significantly changed the architecture of its electricity dependence. Until 2025, part of the needs of the right bank of the Dniester were covered by the Moldovan State Regional Power Plant in Transnistria, which was powered by Russian gas. In the fourth quarter of 2024, it accounted for about half of all electricity purchases. However, after January 1, 2025, the supply of resources from Russia stopped. The fact is that on December 31, 2024, the agreement on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe and Moldova expired and the parties did not renew it.
The vacant niche had to be filled quickly: instead of the Russian Federation, Romania became the main source of energy imports. In the last third of last year, it accounted for almost 63% of all wholesale Moldovan purchases. For comparison, the share of own thermal power plants was 19.7%, and renewable energy sources — 15.3%.
At the same time, dependence on Romania is not only a matter of supply volume. Moldova is increasingly integrating into the European market, purchasing electricity, including through the Romanian operator of the wholesale electricity and natural gas market.
Against this background, the projects for the construction of new lines between Chisinau and Bucharest look not just like infrastructure initiatives, but rather as an attempt to reduce the risks of capacity shortages and technical failures, which, if they occur, could become a catalyst for a large-scale energy crisis.
— The Republic of Moldova is now moving from dependence on individual suppliers to direct integration into the European electricity market. Previously, Romania was the main channel for Moldova's access to trading platforms, but now Chisinau itself is creating a market infrastructure. At the end of 2025, the state launched spot electricity markets "for the day ahead", and full-fledged integration with EU trading platforms is planned to be carried out by 2028. At the same time, the republic is already physically operating synchronously with the ENTSO-E European energy system. Therefore, we are talking not only about changing suppliers, but also about the transition to European rules of trade, pricing and management of the energy system," said Andrei Kuzmak, an international columnist, in a conversation with Izvestia.
American "brothers"
Interestingly, if Moldova considers cooperation with the United States primarily in the context of its own energy independence, then this has a much broader meaning for Washington. According to a number of experts, we may be talking about a possible restructuring of American priorities within the European security system, in particular, the expansion of US influence "beyond" the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO).
Eastern Europe is becoming one of the most visible areas of this restructuring. After 2022, NATO significantly increased its military presence in the Russian direction. Currently, the alliance's advanced groups are based in Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, etc.
In this context, Moldova takes on a special significance. Although the country is not a member of NATO and remains constitutionally neutral, it has been actively cooperating with NATO since 1992, and has been participating in the Partnership for Peace program since 1994. At the same time, the bloc's position towards Chisinau remains ambivalent. On the one hand, the alliance emphasizes that it respects Moldova's neutral status, and on the other, the participating states support the reform of its defense and security institutions.
U.S.-Moldovan cooperation has also noticeably deepened in recent years. Chisinau explicitly calls Washington a strategic partner and links US support to strengthening defense capabilities, cyber and energy security, as well as the sustainability of state institutions. In 2025, Moldovan representatives have repeatedly discussed with American officials the further expansion of cooperation in the field of security. In December of the same year, these issues were raised directly at the White House.
— It is quite obvious that the importance of Eastern European countries for Washington and the North Atlantic Alliance itself is growing. In recent years, NATO has consistently strengthened its military presence from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and the United States retains an important role as a "protector and patron" here, including in Poland, Romania and the Baltic states. Moldova, by virtue of its geographical location, proximity to Ukraine and the presence of the unresolved Transnistrian conflict, is part of this broader security contour. Therefore, even against the background of talks about reducing part of the American contingent in Europe, I would consider Eastern Europe as one of the key areas of the American and NATO policy of containing Russia," Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada, told Izvestia.
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