Italy’s grid operator Terna has received connection requests for nearly 600 data centre projects totalling more than 100 gigawatts (GW), CEO Pasqualino Monti said at an event organised by business school RCS Academy on Wednesday.
The connection requests “far exceed the real capacity to implement the projects,” Monti said, adding that the challenge was to support the sector’s growth “efficiently and gradually.”
The requested capacity is up from 42 GW in May 2025, according to Terna.
Italy hosts about 205 data centres, mostly bundled in the Lombardy region.
The Milan area accounts for 68% of the country’s data-centre power capacity and 23% of announced sector investments across Europe, according to the Data Center Observatory at Milan’s Politecnico University.
83 new data centre projects for up to €25 billion ($28 billion) are expected through 2028, the Observatory said.
