Green light from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security for the final project of the Sa.Co.I. 3. the 200 kV direct current submarine electric cable Terna which will connect Sardinia, Corsica and Tuscany, with a total transport capacity of up to 400 MW.
The history of Sa.Co.I 3
Terna has planned a total investment of around one billion euros in Sa.Co.I 3. Resources that will be used to modernize and strengthen the current electrical connection, called Sa.Co.I.2, dating back to the early 90s.
The original work between the Sardinia and Tuscany it entered service in the late 60s, and was the first 200 kV direct current high voltage connection in the world. In 1988, with the construction of a third converter station in Lucciana, Corsica, the first high voltage direct current multi-terminal connection was created.
“Confirming the strategic relevance of the work for the European electricity market, Sa.Co.I. 3 was included in the list of projects that Terna presented to Mase and the European Commission as part of the Repower EU. In detail, in the measure for the 'electric transport networks', the financing allocated to the infrastructure is 200 million euros", explains the company in a note.
The renewal of Sa.Co.I.3
Once operational, the Sa.Co.I.3 "will contribute to the strengthening of the European electricity market" and will favor "the development of renewable sources and increasing transport capacity between the Center and North and the Islands, with consequent greater reliability and security of the national electricity transmission grid", underlines Terna.
Il renewal of the work, included since 2017 in the third list of Projects of Common Interest of the European Commission, involves the construction of two new conversion stations adjacent to the existing ones (one in Codrongianos, in the province of Sassari, and one in Suvereto, in the province of Livorno), the pose of new submarine cables for a total length of 120 km and underground cables for 20 km from the landing places to the electricity stations using, where possible, the existing infrastructure.
The landings of the submarine cables will be located in Santa Teresa di Gallura in Sardinia and in Salivoli, in the municipality of Piombino, in Tuscany.
The CEO of Foggia: "Historic work for Italy and France"
“The electrical connection between Sardinia, Corsica and the Italian peninsula is a historic infrastructural work for Italy and France: its renewal, for which Terna will invest around one billion euros, is a project of absolute technological excellence that will contribute to strengthening our country's role as an energy hub for Europe and the Mediterranean. An efficient and interconnected network at European level makes it possible to accelerate the ongoing energy transition process and achieve the objectives set at community level", he declared Giuseppina Di Foggia, CEO and general manager of Terna.
“The renewal and strengthening of the connection between Italy, Sardinia and Corsica is a project of great importance not only for the supply of Corsica, but also for the Italian electricity system. It will contribute to strengthening the adequacy of Sardinia's electricity system, especially in view of the objective of the phase-out from coal set in the PNIEC 2019 and confirmed by this Government in the update of the Plan", declared the minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin.
