The connection of an electricity plant to the national transmission grid, managed in Italy by Terna, follows a process defined and governed by ARERA, the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment. According to Article 3 of Italian Legislative Decree 79/99, Terna is obliged to connect all applicant parties to the electricity grid; in particular, it is responsible for high-voltage and extra-high-voltage connection, namely of plants with power at 10 MW or higher. The connection request is the first step in a process that ends with creation of the plant and connection to the grid.
In recent years the development and diffusion of renewable sources has made radical changes to the Italian electricity system, historically based on energy production from mostly traditional thermoelectric. The present, and especially the future, is increasingly greener and the challenging European decarbonisation objectives set out in the Fit for 55 programme have already defined the target we must reach in Italy: in addition to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% compared to 1990 levels, by 2030 we must install around 70k MW in Italy of new capacity from renewables, in particular wind and photovoltaic power. This will make it possible to cover at least two-thirds of Italian electricity consumption with energy produced from clean sources, doubling the current amount. An intermediate step towards 2050, when climate neutrality (“net zero”) is envisaged.