Italian energy company Eni will be the “preferred” offtaker in a cross-border project to supply renewable energy from projects in Albania to Italy via subsea cables.
The deal was signed at the Italy – UAE Business Forum in Rome this week between the Emirati state-owned renewable energy developer Masdar, Abu Dhabi-based TAQA Transmission and Italy’s Eni. It follows a deal signed in Abu Dhabi last month to pursue collaboration on cross-border power supply and renewable energy development between Italy and Albania, with backing from the UAE.
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The Albanian Power Corporation (Korporata Elektroenergjitike Shqiptare) and the country’s transmission system operator (OPERATORI I SISTEMIT TE TRANSMETIMIT) are the designated Albanian entities in the tripartite deal.
In its announcement of the signing, Masdar did not specify the capacity or energy technology which it will deploy, though solar PV represents a large portion of its renewable energy portfolio.
The deal forms part of a broader collaboration emerging between Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s government and the UAE, with up to US$40 billion worth of deals signed at the Business Forum this week.
Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said: “Building on our existing collaborations across the Mediterranean, today’s agreement will pave the way to Masdar increasing its presence in the region. By integrating TAQA’s expertise in high-voltage transmission infrastructure and Eni’s leadership in European energy markets, we are uniquely positioned to deploy cutting-edge solutions at gigawatt scale.”
The company has previously signed a deal with the Albanian Power Corporation to build a “gigawatt scale” renewable power portfolio in Albania and has invested increasingly in southern and southeastern Europe. It took a majority stake in Greek renewable power firm Terna Energy last year, which it said was the largest ever transaction on the Athens stock exchange.
Masdar chairman Sultan Al Jaber, who is also the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, and a minister in the Emirati government, framed the announcement in the context of the “UAE Consensus” to triple global renewable energy following last year’s COP29 conference.
Cross-border energy supply
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said: “Cross-border energy collaboration plays an increasing role in energy security as it can promote the use of cleaner and more sustainable energy vectors.”
Italy’s grid operator, Terna, has included provisions for cross-border supply in its grid modernisation plans for 2024-28, with a view to securing a role for Italy as a Mediterranean electricity transmission “hub”.
The EU has also run two auctions for cross-border solar PV capacity under its Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism (RENEWFM), where a financier country funds the development of projects in a host nation and a proportion of renewable energy credits are baked into the investment.
An October report from Rystad Energy predicted that interconnections between North Africa and Europe could support up to 24GW of additional renewable energy capacity.
