“Udine Ovest – Redipuglia” power line: dismantling of 110 km of old electricity lines gets underway

TERRITORY NEWS

21

November 2017

In the town of Campolongo Tapogliano, Debora Serracchiani, the Regional President of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Terna CEO Luigi Ferraris, were there to see the start of works to demolish 110 km of old power lines as part of the 'Udine Ovest-Redipuglia' power line project.
The Campolongo pylon is the first of around 400 to be demolished in 30 Municipalities in the Bassa Friulana area, removing lines that date back to the 50s. Work started on the 20 km of the 220 kV 'Udine Nord Est-Redipuglia' line between the Redipuglia substation and the Safau plant in the Pavia di Udine Municipality. Following this, the 132 kV 'Istrago-Meduna' line will be dismantled, for a total of 70 km of lines removed within the first six months of 2018. The remaining 40 km of lines to be dismantled will be finished once the relevant approval has been received.
The rationalisation of the old lines has been made possible thanks to the new 'Udine Ovest-Redipuglia' power line, which was activated on 01 October 2017. This work is vital to resolve the security issues facing the Friulian electricity network, whose only two 380 kV lines were from the 70s and 80s, whilst the electricity consumption of families and companies in the region has more than doubled in the meantime.
367 hectares of land used for power lines will be freed up (the equivalent to 524 football pitches), 30 of which are in protected areas of environmental importance. The dismantling of around 400 pylons will bring benefits to 680 properties built near the existing lines over the years and will allow for the recovery and recycling of 1,800 tonnes of steel.
'This entire undertaking represents an investment of € 110 million by Terna and will bring more security and stability to the electricity supply for the families and business in the region with minimal impact on the landscape and nature' said Terna CEO Luigi Ferraris. 'The decommissioning work we have launched will free up large protected areas of environmental significance, benefiting the Friulian communities, also in terms of employment'.
'This is the final phase of a plan launched in back 2006 which has been improved by the new compensation package defined during this parliament.' added Regional President of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Debora Serracchiani. 'The start of the demolition of the old pylons and the land we will recover as a result will benefit both the environment and the countryside in our region'.