Terna, an Italian company responsible for the transmission of energy throughout the entire Italian territory, has presented a project for a new electricity transmission line which will connect Sorgente, Messina in Sicily to Rizziconi, Reggio Calabria. The transmission line in question will have a total length of 105 km, including 38 km undersea, and will require an investment of €700 million. The new power line will permit the demolition of 540 pylons along 170 km of obsolete power lines, allowing the recovery of materials such as steel, aluminum and glass. Currently, there is already a power transmission line between the island of Sicily and the Italian mainland, but this new project will triple the capacity in question. The Sorgente-Rizziconi line, once completed, will use about 700 MW from renewable sources and will allow an efficient management of flows from the power plants in southern Italy.
Italy's environment minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said that the project "will contribute not only to the energy development of Sicily, but of the whole country", adding, that there will be a significant saving in energy costs.