Italy's Grid Lobby Urges Tighter Screening of Data Centre Connection Queue
Italy's 94 GW data centre connection queue, up 34% in six months, has drawn lobby calls for screening before fast-track permitting takes effect.
Italian data centre grid connection requests reached 94 GW in June (2026-06-30), a 34% jump from 70 GW in December 2025, TSO Terna reported on Wednesday (2026-07-29). Italy's energy lobby has used that figure to press Rome for tighter upfront screening, warning that accelerated permitting applied to an inflated queue will compress timelines for speculative projects and genuine ones alike.5
Italy's transmission system cannot absorb 94 GW of new load. A large share of those requests represent developers who filed to secure queue positions before their projects neared construction readiness, a pattern grid operators across Europe have struggled to contain. Renewables and storage queues also hit record levels in the same period, Terna noted, adding pressure to a system already stretched.5
The investment at stake sharpens the lobby's argument. Up to EUR 60bn of data centre investment is in play for Italy, part of a EUR 100bn-plus European surge driven by artificial intelligence, consultancy Key to Energy told Montel in May (2026-05-21). Connection delays in northern Italy were already the primary bottleneck even before June's surge, Key to Energy partner Virginia Canali said. Spain and eastern Europe are positioned to absorb investment that Italy fails to accommodate.1
Rome has moved on permitting speed. The energy ministry unveiled plans in late July (2026-07-23) to cut grid connection wait times from more than three years to around 10 months, and analysts told Montel the measures could materially unblock development for construction-ready projects. The lobby's push for screening is a direct response: without credible entry criteria, faster approvals risk being consumed by the speculative portion of the queue.4,5
Italy's data centre power demand is forecast to quadruple to 20 TWh by 2030, Key to Energy projected, a curve steep enough to challenge grid investment planning even with reliable timelines. Without clarity on connection, Key to Energy warned, capital would flow to competing markets rather than waiting for Italian grid access to stabilise.1
Supply procurement is already moving ahead of infrastructure resolution. Italy's renewable PPA market is accelerating on AI-driven demand, with a 1.7 GW project pipeline targeting data centre offtake, experts told Montel. Projects under construction total 343 MW, with a further 1.6 GW planned and awaiting permitting, energy economist Pasquale Cavaliere said. That pipeline's economics depend on connection timelines becoming predictable across the queue, not just for the projects that make it through a congested system by chance.2
The constraint extends beyond Italy's borders. ENTSO-E warned in May (2026-05-08) that Europe's transmission operators may be forced to curtail renewable energy penetration if data centre demand growth is not properly managed. Italy faces that trade-off in concentrated form: the grid is already absorbing significant renewable generation, and adding large AI-driven loads without disciplined queue management accelerates the conflict ENTSO-E identified.3
The energy ministry has not published queue-screening criteria alongside its fast-track permitting framework. Italy's renewable sector encountered the same speculative inflation problem in its own connection queues before regulators intervened. With data centre requests still climbing — the 34% surge in the first half of 2026 came before fast-track approvals were available — each month without screening criteria adds to the queue the ministry will eventually have to clear.4,5