Italy's Terna, France's Meridiam team up in US to build power links

Italian grid operator Terna SpA (BIT:TRN) said on Monday that its recently-founded US subsidiary has formed a partnership with Meridiam and Boundless Energy to develop large-scale electricity transmission infrastructure projects in the country.

Under a newly-signed joint development agreement, the three companies will combine their expertise to capture business opportunities linked to the acquisition, development and implementation of such projects in the US, both onshore and offshore.

Terna USA will share its know-how in relation to undergound and undersea cables installation and French infrastructure investor Meridiam will contribute the knowledge it has gathered in Europe, including as part of an ongoing project to establish the first ever subsea electricity transmission link between the UK and Germany. The so-called NeuConnect interconnector achieved financial close in July.

In turn, US-based Boundless Energy has a solid technical background in similar developments, along with a portfolio of projects already developed in many different areas of the country. Back in 2005, the firm managed the development and implementation of the 40-km Neptune undersea connection between New Jersey and Long Island.

"Through partnership with two prominent and highly experienced players in the sector, Terna can pursue important business goals with a capital-light strategy, contributing to development of the US electricity system and increasingly integrating energy generated from renewables such as solar and wind power,” commented Giacomo Donnini, Chief of Major Projects and International Development for the Terna Group.

Also on Monday, another US-European team made up of Pennsylvania-based energy provider PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) and Belgium’s Elia Group SA (EBR:ELI) said they intend to collaborate on the development, construction and operation of onshore transmission assets for offshore wind farms in the New England region of the US.

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