The umpteenth, the last, perhaps, the decisive one. Legislative Decree number 153 of the “horribilis” year of energy speculation on the Island of Nuraghi bursts into the Gazette of “bad news”, the “Official” one of the Italian Republic, when the dawn of October 18, yesterday, has just risen in the land of the Power of Rome, the one dedicated to the sun and wind of Sardinia.
Brand New Diktat
A blitz, announced a few days ago by our newspaper, which materialized with articles and diktats, all sanctioned by the power of decrees, measures that become "law" at the same time that the "State Mint" shakes the presses, awaiting parliamentary conversion. Palazzo Chigi seems to have transformed into a "missile" platform for pro-wind and photovoltaic Decrees, a chain of legislative acts that chase each other one after the other, symbols of a perennial wind "bulimia" with a lot of "performance" anxiety, almost as if those targets sanctioned in the PNRR were an unstoppable craving.
National “Picket”
This is why the national “Pichetto”, that Fratin turned accountant-Minister of the Environment, is trying everything to break down the resistance to the wind and photovoltaic invasion of Sardinia. The latest “wind-war” invention is launched by a hasty Council of Ministers, convened to give the final push to any resistance on the speculative-energy side. A heavy artillery blow, perhaps the hardest since the Draghi era to date. Rome's misdeed is a sort of supersonic “launching ramp” for all, or almost all, of the devastating projects that concern Sardinia. The new Decree writes and orders: « the project types identified by decree of the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, in agreement with the Minister of Culture and the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport are considered priority ». The definition of " urgent, contingent and of public interest ", imposed by the Draghi-diktat, was not enough, now the even more imposing one of " preeminent national strategic interest " comes into play. In other words: a real declaration of "holy war", with all the lexical trappings of state imposition.
Renewable coup
The new Decree ventures into criteria that have the sole function of tracing the main road for the "renewable coup" on Sardinian soil. For the new Roman edict, those projects characterized by: "technical and economic reliability and sustainability of the project in relation to its implementation; contribution to the achievement of the decarbonization objectives set by the PNIEC; relevance for the purposes of implementing the investments of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR); enhancement of existing works, plants or infrastructures" are "preeminent and of national strategic interest ". Translated into money, this means all those projects that have "cyclopean" characteristics capable of immediately and without wasting time reaching the mandatory targets accepted passively by Italy at the very moment in which it collected the money from the infamous PNRR.
Names and Surnames
Coincidentally, the vast majority of projects submitted from 2021 to today in Sardinia have the same characteristics indicated by the Fratin-Meloni Decree. They make them explicit with the perennial trick of indicating them even before any further implementing measure. They don't even trust themselves so much that they are forced to write: « Pending the adoption of the decree referred to in paragraph 1, the following are to be considered priorities, according to the following order: a) projects concerning green or renewable hydrogen plants and related plants from renewable sources; b) modification interventions, even substantial, for the renovation, strengthening or complete reconstruction of plants powered by wind or solar sources; c) on-shore photovoltaic and on-shore agrivoltaic projects with a nominal power of at least 50 megawatts and on-shore wind projects with a nominal power of at least 70 megawatts» . All projects with a name and surname, identifiable both by expected power, those presented in Sardinia all fall within that "range", and by "energy formula", see the "priority among priorities" assigned to those wind plans that transform renewable energy into "green hydrogen".
Oil footprints
In this last case it is not difficult to identify a "harmony" with the projects of the Sarroch oil "refinery" which, with the excuse of the hypothetical transformation into hydrogen, had already attempted an assault in terms of an amendment derogation in the Regional Council through amendments presented by political-oil sponsors. In short, with this Decree, in force since yesterday, the Ministry will field a real task force to try to approve the greatest number of projects, aiming to make the most of the regulatory vacuum that exists in Sardinia, generated by the phantom and useless "moratorium", not only "sub iudice", under judgment of the Constitutional Court, but also clearly unconstitutional in most of its provisions, so much so that the Regional Council itself is planning its total repeal through the bill on "suitable areas".
Task force
The Pnrr Commission, responsible for examining these projects, will be joined by the "Environmental Impact Assessment" Commission and, above all, for the definition of authorizations, a body that has nothing to do with the examination of projects is being called upon for the first time: "the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security can avail itself of the operational support of the Energy Services Manager - GSE SpA in relation to projects for energy production from renewable sources". This "acrobatic patrol" will have the task of making at least 60% of the projects with the characteristics indicated in the decree jump the rankings, just to guarantee their approval in immediate times.
Bombs & Shovels
Last “blitz within the blitz”, the military one, in the true sense of the word. At the last possible second, the Ministry of Defense has dusted off an old obsession: to build wind and photovoltaic power within military polygons, confirming, inadvertently, the theory of disproportionate military easements so much so that they can even plan expanses of panels and wind turbines. A plan for which they even foresee the modification of the “military code”: “the Ministry of Defense can define a program of interventions for the energy transition of the sites, infrastructures and military property in any capacity in use or in supply, located on the national territory”. In short, energy easement upon military easement. The measure must now be approved by parliament by December 18.
December 11th teaches
Not a random date: the Constitutional Court has in fact set the hearing for the Sardinian “moratorium” on December 11th. For the Regional Council, therefore, it is a crucial date. The objective of the Regional Council will be, in fact, to avoid in any way the Court's pronouncement on that provision to avoid a heavy verdict from the Constitutional Judges. To avoid this, however, as expected, it will have to repeal it in its entirety with the provision on suitable areas. In fact, a new law that, however, is born, with the same unconstitutional flaws as the first. This too is incapable of stopping speculation precisely because of the ambiguity of the “suitable and non-suitable” areas. The “combined provisions” are just around the corner: legislative chaos, regulatory Wild West , green light for speculators on Sardinian soil. Yet another.