VDP Srl

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project involved the construction of a high-voltage power cable in alternating current (AC) which now serves as an interconnector between Italy and Malta. As regards the Italian section, the power cable consists of about 26.5 km of submarine interconnection between Italian territorial waters and the Sicilian shore and 19 km of underground connection from Ragusa existing power substation to the landing point of the submarine cable (Marina di Ragusa).

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS

Following the decree declaring the environmental compatibility of the work, the authorization procedure required the development of a series of studies and specialist activities:

• Monitoring plan elaboration regarding the complete set of the environmental components affected by the project and plan implementation before the laying of both terrestrial and submarine cables;

• Air, soil, water and ecosystem surveys. In particular, the marine ecosystem monitoring focused on:

   - Analysis of spermatophytes;
   - Sea water physical and chemical analysis;
   - Physical and chemical analysis of marine sediments;
   - Study of the organisms living in the benthic zone;
   - Detection of cetacean presence.

• Accurate evaluation of the electromagnetic fields affecting the receptors placed in the vicinity of the underground terrestrial cable;

• Study and modeling of underwater sound propagation in order to define the preservation area. This area protects marine mammals from the underwater noise generated by cable-laying activities;

• Design and implementation of the reforestation project concerning Posidonia Oceanica, a seagrass species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. The large underwater meadows were affected by the laying of the submarine cable, therefore an intervention was necessary: a portion of seagrass was removed from Marina di Ragusa seabed and planted in the site of Mondello (Palermo).