Terna, the national electricity grid operator of Italy, has forged a pivotal agreement with the Sicily Region. This landmark accord sets the stage for a robust partnership, aimed at enhancing the strategic planning and optimal placement of new electricity infrastructure within the region. The primary goal is to expedite the implementation of Terna’s Development Plan, aligning with Italy’s Regional Environmental Energy Plan objectives. 

Specifically, it will be possible to monitor grid connection requests for renewable systems by sharing information and data.

The terms - signed by Calogero Giuseppe Burgio, Director of the Energy Department, and Enrico Maria Carlini, Head of Electric System Planning and Permitting - of the five-year agreement include the creation of a “control room” with steering powers, as well as roundtables on exchanging data, consultation, managing local requirements and regulatory clarification.

A new digital platform will be the main channel used to exchange information with institutions such as regional authorities, the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, and the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA). Terna will digitise status data for renewable production plants and information on the process of connecting to the national transmission grid.

With this initiative, Terna and the Sicily Region have agreed to foster discussions and participatory planning with local authorities, stakeholders, and the public. The idea is to share decisions about where structural works will be located, speed up execution times of works, and guarantee an even more efficient and sustainable electricity grid for the area while respecting natural and cultural heritage.

The key projects planned for Sicily outlined in the 2023-2032 Development Plan include the construction of three infrastructure works: the Caracoli - Ciminna (PA) power line, to connect the Tyrrhenian Link landing point to the extra-high voltage grid; the power line between the Fulgatore and Partinico (PA) substations, to receive electricity generated by renewable sources in the area; and the submarine power line between the Priolo (Sicily) and Rossano (Calabria) grid nodes, which will optimise production from existing sites to strengthen the reliability of the Sicilian grid and increase energy flows with the mainland.

Over the duration of the Development Plan the company will invest 3.2 billion euros in Sicily, making the region the largest beneficiary of investments in Italy.

“My administration - confirmed Renato Schifani, President of the Sicily Region - aims to follow and facilitate, to the best of its ability, the impressive work of upgrading the National Grid that Terna is operating both in the regional territory and with the Tyrrhenian Link (a Sicily-Sardinia branch and a Sicily-Campania branch) and TUNITA (Tunisia-Italy). The island is bidding to become a natural national energy hub, starting precisely from renewable sources. The goal for Sicily is to reach 10,38 gigawatts of total installed capacity for renewable sources in 2030. To date, the Region has already issued authorizations for about 5 gigawatts. The fruitful collaboration with Terna can be further expanded by exploiting their digital technologies for territorial and environmental monitoring.”

“This agreement is fundamental because it will make it possible to share information and data and accelerate authorization procedures in this way," said Roberto Di Mauro, Regional Councillor for Energy. “The agreement makes it possible to systematize a two-way collaborative relationship with Terna so that we know the traceability of the path of all the initiatives of an entrepreneurial nature that must be done in Sicily, private and public. Great openness towards Terna to collaborate, to agree and have knowledge of all the instances that are presented in Sicily in order to simultaneously have a clear picture of what are the real practices that function for the achievement of the 2030 goal.”