At the end of August 2026 Terna counted 531 data center connection requests, for 95 GW in total. Almost half in Lombardy. Only 15 projects, equal to 1.9 GW, are in an advanced stage, and the plants actually connected are 8 (source: Fortune Italia ).
The figure says two things. The demand for compute in Italy is enormous. And the grid cannot keep up: in Europe a connection can take up to ten years.
For a hospital or a company that wants a private AI the consequence is practical. A system that generates and stores its own energy next to the servers does not enter that queue. With the grid as a backup, and the sun as the main source, AI is installed in months rather than years.