Italy plans to send two new units for the regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Sardinia to help the island phase out coal, a government decree seen by Reuters showed.
Sardinia currently relies on two coal-fired power plants for its electricity needs and is slowly developing renewable energy capacity.
The government has mandated Italy's gas grid operator Snam to set up a new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in the port of Oristano, on the centre-west coast of Sardinia, the decree seen by Reuters said.
The document approved by the government on Friday also mentioned the possibility of a second LNG terminal in the north-west coastal town of Porto Torres in case one of the two coal plants is turned into a gas-fired power station.
In addition, the government said that two existing LNG terminals in continental Italy - one in Liguria and one offshore Tuscany - would be upgraded to be able to send small vessels loaded with LNG to Sardinia's new terminals.
The energy ministry said in an official statement released on Friday that Italy would add LNG infrastructure in Sardinia, without giving details.
The ministry added that the island would also add battery storage capacity and strengthen electricity connections with continental Italy and Sicily in order to phase out coal.
(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)