This report first references the pan-European zonal model developed for 2030 analysis based on the 2030 ST (Sustainable Transition) scenario from ENTSO-E’s TYNDP 20181, with appropriate extensions to represent 52 zones. This pan-European zonal model for 2030 has been further extended to integrate a portion of the North African system.

Additionally, as part of the independent model-based checks required by ARERA2, activities were conducted and are described for the technical-economic assessment of three Italian transmission network expansion projects. These projects, based on high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine links, represent significant reinforcements to the internal and cross-border Italian zonal system along the following three corridors:

HVDC Italy-Montenegro interconnection, second pole (MONITA 2, M2p)
HVDC Centro-Sud/Centro-Nord link (Adriatic Link, AL)
HVDC Campania/Sicily/Sardinia link (Tyrrhenian Link, TL)
These projects were analyzed using the sMTSim calculation tool applied to the extended pan-European zonal network model (2030 ST extended). The analysis provided important indications regarding the three projects in terms of Socio-Economic Welfare benefits, amounting to: €14.03 million per year for the HVDC TL link; €72.42 million per year for the HVDC AL link; and €26.75 million per year for the HVDC M2p link. Similarly, a preliminary technical-economic analysis was performed for the HVDC ELMED interconnection project between Sicily and Tunisia by applying sMTSim to the pan-European zonal network model (2030 ST extended) with an expansion to include a portion of the North African system, considering two alternative scenarios for Tunisia in 2030. In both cases, the analyses highlighted significant results in terms of the potential benefits provided by the inclusion of the interconnection.

Finally, the report details a new approach to calculating the benefits of transmission network expansions within the Dispatching Services Market (DSM). To achieve the goal of a single simulation tool operating probabilistically across all sequential markets, a significant revision of RSE’s REMARK+ tool (NewREMARK+) has been undertaken, integrating a simplified yet more updated version of the reserve model and RSE’s Residual Unit Commitment (RUC).

Footnotes
TYNDP: Ten-Year Network Development Plan. ENTSO-E: European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity.

ARERA: Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks, and the Environment.