ROME (Reuters) -Italy’s state-controlled power grid operator Terna said on Friday it would invest more than 23 billion euros ($25 billion) on network upgrades over the next 10 years, to help support the country’s energy transition.
The group, which had last year pledged overall investments of 16.5 billion euros through 2028, announced it would raise by 10% the funds aimed at the development of the national power network in the 2025-2034 period.
“Investing in planning, modernising and digitising electricity grids will be essential to cope with the growing demand for energy and the integration of renewable sources,” Chief Executive Giuseppina Di Foggia said in a statement.
She added that the group’s goal was to “ensure that the country has a reliable, resilient and sustainable system”.
Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin welcomed Terna’s commitments.
“23 billion (euros of investments) is an important thing, because clearly this is the backbone of the national energy (system). If we don’t have the backbone of the network, we can’t satisfy the demands of citizens and businesses,” he told reporters.
Terna forecast that thanks to its investment plan, the capacity for energy exchange between markets would reach about 39 GW from the current 16 GW and interventions would resolve local congestion and guarantee stability and security of the grid.
It said major infrastructure projects such as the Tyrrhenian Link, connecting the island of Sicily to Sardinia and the southern region of Campania, the Adriatic Link off Italy’s eastern coast and the EU-funded Italy-Tunisia power line would all be completed by 2030.
Terna said its investments would help support the Italian government’s goals to increase national installed solar and wind capacity by 65 GW by 2030 and 94 GW by 2035.
It added that interventions envisaged in its plan would lead to a total reduction of up to 2,000 kiloton/year of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, rising to 12,100 kiloton/year by 2040.
($1 = 0.9198 euros)
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by David Evans)
