Italy, Albania, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a €1 billion ($1 billion) agreement on Wednesday to establish a subsea interconnection to import renewable energy across the Adriatic Sea. This partnership aims to strengthen existing power interconnections, covering 430 km along the Adriatic seabed, linking Italy to Montenegro and other Balkan regions. The goal is to improve efficiency and competitiveness within the energy sector, according to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.
This project is a major step towards enhancing energy security, promoting sustainable development, and accelerating the shift to clean energy in the Mediterranean. The deal also complements a separate initiative to build an electricity connection between Italy and Tunisia to boost power flow capacity in the Mediterranean.
The collaboration involves Italy’s grid operator Terna, the UAE’s National Energy Company (Taqa), and Albania, with the subsea infrastructure expected to connect Albania’s Vlore port to Italy’s southern region of Puglia. The project is set to be operational within three years. Albania aims to sell locally produced renewable energy, building on its efforts to diversify its renewable energy capacity, which has increased by approximately 500 MW in the past two years.
Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, highlighted the potential of combining UAE’s renewable energy expertise, Albania’s natural resources, and Italy’s advanced energy market to create a transformative collaboration between the nations.
