Public Consultation

On 13 October 2023, Terna launched the formal public consultation for the new GR.ITA 2 Italy–Greece HVDC interconnection, marking the start of a 60-day stakeholder engagement process required under EU Regulation 869/2022. The first session was held online via Microsoft Teams on Friday 13 October, followed by four in-person 'Terna Incontra' meetings between 17 and 25 October across the seven Province of Lecce municipalities affected by the project route — Galatina (host of the new converter station), Sternatia, Soleto, Martignano, Calimera, Carpignano Salentino, and Melendugno (cable landfall). Terna presented siting hypotheses for the converter station, the onshore underground DC cable corridor and the cable landfall location, building on a voluntary engagement process initiated in 2022 with support from the Apulia Region and the municipal authorities. The consultation was conducted under modalities pre-approved by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) and applied Minimum Environmental Criteria (CAM) on a voluntary basis to minimise impact on host communities. Investment was budgeted at the time at approximately €750 million (a figure later revised upwards to approximately €1.9 billion in the May 2025 IPTO–Terna Memorandum of Understanding covering the full bipolar HVDC interconnection between Thesprotia and Galatina).