Terna: 90 million euro for the new Elba - Continent undersea cable

The new 37 km power line has been authorised which will strengthen the sustainability, efficiency

and quality of the electricity system on the island of Elba and in the Piombino area

TERNA: € 90 MILLION FOR THE NEW 'ELBA - CONTINENT'

UNDERSEA CABLE

The project is part of the approximately €9 billion investment to develop and modernise the

national electricity grid included in the 2021-2025 "Driving Energy" Business Plan

Rome, 18 May 2021 - Terna has invested €90 million for the energy development of the Island of Elba. The national electricity grid operator will build a new 132 kV power line which will connect the island to the mainland. The decree authorising the project which will connect the primary cabin in Colmata, Municipality of Piombino (prov. of Livorno) and Portoferraio on the island of Elba, was signed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The power line will be 37 kilometres long: 34 of those will be undersea cables at a maximum depth of 70 metres and over 3 kilometres will be completely underground.

An infrastructure which will double the connection lines between the Italian electricity system and the grid on the island of Elba. The new power line will contribute to improving the quality of the local infrastructure, guaranteeing important benefits in terms of safety, reliability and sustainability on the entire island, which tends to have high electricity consumption over the summer period.

The project is part of the investments of 515 million euros planned by Terna in the next 5 years in Tuscany, and in line with the Industrial Plan 2021-2025 "Driving Energy" of 8.9 billion euros for the development and modernization of the national grid. Over the coming weeks, the electricity grid operator will commence the executive design of the project, along with all the preliminary activities necessary to begin the works.

The cable casings will be made using controlled horizontal drilling technique (TOC), which makes it possible to install a pipe, limiting interference with aquatic plants and cancelling out the impact of the work on the shoreline, while at the same time ensuring the electrical connection is protected as needed. Once the activities are completed Terna aims for full restoration of the state of the sites, thus leaving the landscape's geomorphological configuration intact.

During the planning phase, Terna carried out increasingly in-depth surveys working together with the Italian Ministry of the Environment and with ISPRA (Institute for Environmental Protection). Along with the construction work to complete the project, the company has also undertaken to carry out another project to transplant posidonia oceanica of high ecological value.