Eco-sustainable routing of power lines for the connection of renewable energy plants to the Italian high-voltage grid

Routing of high-voltage electric transmission lines for the connection of renewable energy-distributed generation plants is a critical issue from an environmental point of view. A standard methodology that accounts for multiple perspectives, influence factors and is able to mediate between weighted constraints can be a useful tool for the regulating bodies that are involved in approval processes. The methodology can be an effective support to increase reliability, save consumers' money and mitigate the unavoidable impacts of the lines on the population living nearby. In this paper we investigate the suitability of a procedure employed by Terna, the Italian high-voltage transmission system operator, to identify the corridors where to route new overhead transmission lines with the lowest environmental impact. The methodology is based on the subdivision of all the relevant constraints dictated by environmental issues and territory legislations in four main classes. A real case study concerning the design and connection of a wind farm placed near Collarmele, in the center of Italy, shows the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.