(Alliance News) - Edison Spa and Webuild Spa comnunicated Wednesday that they have signed a programmatic agreement for the development of hydroelectric pumping projects, highly strategic infrastructure for the ecological transition and national energy security.

Under the agreement, Edison and Webuild will enter into close cooperation, for the definition and implementation of projects related to the pumping of Pescopagano in Basilicata and Villarosa in Sicily developed by Edison.

The two pumped-storage projects are part of Edison's strategy for the growth of renewable energy in Italy, which plans to increase the group's installed green capacity to 5 GW from the current 2 GW by 2030, and jointly to build at least 500 MW of storage, as necessary tools for not dispersing the renewable energy produced at times of higher availability and ensuring the security of the power grid.

The two initiatives, in addition to the realization of new reservoirs and major engineering works completely underground to ensure the greatest compatibility with the territory, provide for the use of existing reservoirs, on which interventions will have to be implemented in order to restore the full functionality of the infrastructure by increasing both their safety levels and the volumes of water that can also be stored for further public use and to combat drought.

The Pescopagano and Villarosa projects are awaiting the conclusion of authorization procedures at the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and concession procedures at the respective regions, with the aim of participating in the first competitive auctions, organized by Terna Spa, to acquire new storage capacity through long-term supply contracts, within the framework of the Storage Futures Market regulations, which are being defined.

"Edison and Webuild return to jointly develop the Italian hydropower supply chain. Thanks to this agreement, we create the foundations to safely achieve the energy transition, limiting the country's exposure to dependence on critical raw materials and relaunching the development of a highly strategic supply chain, of which we are champions in Europe, with clear benefits for national economic development and the increase of renewable energy in the grid, in line with decarbonization goals," said Nicola Monti, CEO of Edison.

"The agreement with Edison aims to pool the expertise of two major Italian private groups, world leaders in the energy and infrastructure sectors, contributing to the path of energy transition and drought mitigation in Italy and particularly in the southern regions. Creating virtuous systems of skills and resources with the entire supply chain is the key to achieving the infrastructure works Italy needs to remain competitive. Webuild is ready to make available to the country the know-how of excellence accumulated through the realization of complex and innovative projects such as the Snowy 2.0 pumped storage hydroelectric plant in Australia," explained Pietro Salini, CEO of Webuild.

The cooperation agreement, through the know-how and specific skills of the two major Italian groups, is aimed at optimizing the projects and the related construction methods, ensuring the best conditions to relaunch significant private investments in the South of the country, for about EUR1.2 billion, guaranteeing spillovers in the "historical" Italian civil and manufacturing supply chains, as well as socio-economic benefits in the territories involved, with a multiplier effect of 2.96.

Webuild's stock is up 2.1 percent to EUR2.13 per share while Edison's stock falls 0.3 percent to EUR1.53 per savings share.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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