Italy greenlights EUR-850m Italy-Tunisia interconnector project

The Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) has given the green light to the construction of the Elmed project that will create a 600-MW interconnection between Italy and Tunisia.

The EUR-850-million (USD 920.2m) project will allow Italy to strengthen its role as an electricity hub in Europe and the Mediterranean and become an international key player, the Italian government said on Wednesday.

The ELMED project will be executed by Italian power grid operator Terna and its Tunisian counterpart STEG. The proposed interconnector will consist of about 224 km (139.2mi) of electricity cables running between the converter substations in Partanna, across the Strait of Sicily, and Mlaabi on the Tunisian peninsula of Cape Bon at a depth of up to 800 m. About 200 km of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link's route is undersea.

ELMED will facilitate the integration of electricity markets, enhance energy procurement security and foster investments in renewables in both Italy and North Africa. About EUR 307 million of the total funds required for the project will come as grant funding from the European Commission.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.083)

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