A challenge within the challenge: the connection to the electricity grid

“The electricity grid is for everybody. Here at Terna, as operator of the National Transmission Grid (NTG), we have a duty to guarantee everyone’s right to connect to the grid.” Oreste D’Addese, Head of Projects for Connection to the NTG and Non-RES Connections, knows where he stands. “We cannot say ‘no’, we must find a solution. Always. For us, no project is impossible. Our role is to find the right solution: the simplest, most cost-effective and most sustainable solution.”

The Connections Office is on the front line in the ecological transition. This is where all the requests arrive for connection to the national transmission grid. In fact, it is in the context of the connection process that NTG works are planned that are necessary to provide electricity for industry and to integrate renewable plants, infrastructure for sustainable mobility, data centres and everything concerning electrification of consumption, into the public grid. This is where the grid of the future is planned and it is possible to see how much the energy market is evolving towards the required ecological transition.

Within the area of grid planning and interconnection, the division headed by Oreste D’Addese manages all connection projects for consumption plants and renewable and non-renewable production plants. The team also manages relations with local administrations for authorisation of connection works and the entire process for connection to the grid — from designing the solution to its commissioning — for consumption plants and non-renewable production plants and distribution stations. “Through close collaboration with other Terna divisions, we design optimal technical solutions, we define the type of electrical infrastructure, and we calculate the costs and construction schedule”.

Study and analysis of the best solution for connection to the grid is followed by planning, a “participatory” process, as always at Terna, with technical meetings involving all users, serving to define the dimensions and location of the grid infrastructure, before starting the authorisation process with the relevant bodies. Once this phase is complete, all that is left is the actual creation of the infrastructure and its commissioning. “The final step is the connection contract, a document that introduces the user to Terna’s world, to start creating the infrastructure, supported by the expertise and professional know-how of the companies various components.” In this sense, Terna is not only a strategic partner but a fundamental enabler.

The greatest challenge is to keep up with a market that is experiencing huge changes. “In 2011 I was an intern. I learnt a lot and it was very useful because the real challenge is the one we are now facing.” In recent years, he states, the Connections Office has recorded an increase in connection requests of 600–700%. The green market is becoming ever more attractive and competitive. Demand for connection of new renewable plants to be integrated into the public grid has grown exponentially. Meanwhile, electrification of consumption has also grown alongside this, making it increasingly important to ensure coordination with distribution networks. Requests for supply of electricity aimed at creating a modern and environmentally sustainable system of mobility infrastructure have increased. Finally, the market linked to digitalisation, which is very energy intensive, is ever more dynamic.

“Fundamentally, photovoltaic power has seen a reduction in costs that has made it sustainable as an investment. Alongside this, there has been a boom in the datacentre market and offshore wind farms... Isn’t it a huge challenge to identify the best connection for plants from 500 megawatt to 3 gigawatt and integrate them all with the public grid? And then, obviously, there is the Recovery Plan, with its huge focus on electrification of consumption. There are the requirements arising from digitalisation... numerous developments that together have intensified our work.

D’Addese faces a challenge within a challenge: making user’s requests feasible and at the same time proposing solutions that enable the ecological transition. “We are a company that manages a public asset. We must not forget this. This awareness stops me from being indifferent, slow or imprecise. I wake up in the morning and remember that I have to do my best. Giving accurate information to anyone who wants to connect to the national electricity grid is a responsibility that I obviously have to manage with impartiality and precision.”

What will the job be like in the near future? Digital, without doubt. “Until recently everything was sent via registered post, in paper format, but now we use certified email (PEC) and digital services. These digital flows will become more and more central, enabling automation of processes that require far fewer hours of work. In this context, we are transforming the management systems and connection procedures (MyTerna) that will definitely be more user-friendly and will automate many repetitive activities that are currently performed manually.”