Italian Lobby Presses for Stricter Vetting of Data Centre Grid Requests
A 94 GW connection queue — up 34% in six months — threatens to crowd out renewables and redirect EUR 60bn of AI-driven investment to Spain and eastern Europe.
An Italian industry lobby called on Friday (2026-09-11) for tighter screening of data centre applications to the national grid, Montel reported, intensifying pressure on grid operator Terna at a point where the connection queue has outgrown any reasonable expectation of delivery.6
The scale of the backlog explains the urgency. TSO Terna disclosed in late July that data centre connection requests had surged 34% to 94 GW in the six months to June, up from 70 GW in December 2025, with renewables and storage queues simultaneously at record levels, Terna said on Wednesday (2026-07-29).5
Most of those 94 GW will never connect. Speculative developers routinely file grid applications as placeholder options before committing capital. But the sheer volume forces Terna to process, study and respond to each one, diverting planning resources and lengthening wait times for projects with secured funding and genuine intent.5
The commercial argument for screening is straightforward. Key to Energy consultancy warned on Thursday (2026-05-21) that Italy's data centre power demand is forecast to quadruple to 20 TWh annually by 2030, with up to EUR 60bn of sector investment planned as part of a broader EUR 100bn-plus European AI-driven surge. Connection delays in the north were already the leading obstacle to that investment flow, the consultancy said.1
Data centres differ from the solar farms clogging the same queue. They draw power continuously at high capacity factors rather than variably, meaning a significant slice of the backlog connecting without coordination would impose sustained baseload demand on the Italian grid and push dispatchable gas generation to cover the increase — exerting upward pressure on wholesale power prices.5,1
ENTSO-E, the European transmission operator body, identified the broader risk in May (2026-05-08): unmanaged data centre load growth could force grid operators across the continent to curtail renewable energy penetration to maintain system stability, raising both costs and carbon exposure at once, the organisation warned.2
The regulatory backdrop makes a rapid Italian response difficult. The European Commission imposed 72 conditions on Italy's energy reform bill, Confindustria reported on Tuesday (2026-05-26), prompting the industrial lobby to demand an end to what it called "loony European bureaucracy." Crafting a domestic screening mechanism that satisfies Brussels while moving faster than the existing regime is not a simple task.3
Not every industry voice is pushing for more filters. European Data Centre Association president Lex Coors argued on Monday (2026-06-22) that Europe should prioritise AI investment over near-term climate commitments or risk surrendering competitive ground to China, framing stricter screening as a liability rather than a solution, according to E&E News.4
Key to Energy's warning makes the competitive dimension specific: if Italian connection delays persist, investment could migrate to Spain or eastern Europe. A merit-order screening process that cleared phantom gigawatts from the queue would benefit developers with genuine financing, but Italy has yet to define what such a framework would look like or what timelines it would carry.1
With the connection backlog having grown by a third in six months, Terna's planning function is absorbing the full cost of speculative filing. How quickly the lobby's call converts into enforceable policy, plus whether EU conditions allow space for Italy to act, will determine where the next tranche of European data centre investment lands.6,5,3