The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted funds worth EUR1.9 billion for the 1 GW Tyrrhenian Link, which is being developed by Italian transmission system operator (TSO), Terna. The funding, which will represent around 50 per cent of the total cost of the project, will be allotted in tranches of EUR500 million. The first tranche has been granted on November 8, 2022.
Terna will invest around EUR3.7 billion in the 1,000 MW high voltage direct current (HVDC) project, which is a new electricity corridor at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, over the coming years.
The 960-km link includes two sections—the East Link from Sicily to Campania and the West Link from Sicily to Sardinia. The 480-km-long East Link connects the Sicilian landing point of Fiumetorto in the municipality of Termini Imerese, with Torre Tuscia Magazzeno in Battipaglia. The 480-km-long West Link involves the construction of subsea and underground cables linking the two new converter substations at Termini Imerese (Palermo) and Selargius (Cagliari).The West Link will be installed at a depth of over 2,000 metres under sea, with some sections reaching 2,150 metres below sea level, which will be a first of its kind globally.
Earlier in October 2022, Italy’s Ministero della Transizione Ecologica (MITE) or Ministry of Ecological Transition approved the East Link and commenced the authorisation procedure for the West Link.
The first cable in the East Link will be commissioned in 2025, while the complete project will be operational by 2028.
(EUR1=USD1.03)
