The State and the Region are once again at loggerheads. The Council of Ministers, acting on a proposal from President Giorgia Meloni, has resolved to intervene in the constitutional proceedings brought by the Region against Article 2, paragraph 1, letter h) of Legislative Decree no. 175 of 2025 regarding areas suitable for the installation of wind and photovoltaic plants.
The situation
The center-right government, in short, is trying to mark time after the Region's decision to oppose the new national law, which defines the scope of action as those outlined in the articles of a law that establishes 370,000 hectares of installable land—a quarter of the island. And following the rejection of the moratorium law and the Sardinian law on suitable areas, members of Viale Trento have filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court in an attempt to shift local decisions back to Cagliari. Yesterday, the Prime Minister's decision to intervene in the constitutional review: standard practice in the legal world. The Government, upon the Prime Minister's proposal (and the opinion of the competent ministers), can intervene in the constitutional review of provisions, either principally or incidentally, to uphold the law's constitutionality, represented by the State Attorney's Office. And so will Meloni, whose father is Sardinian.
The knots
In its appeal filed in March, the Region appealed to the Constitutional Court regarding the conflict of jurisdiction, with a clearly stated criticism of the government's use of substitute powers and the regulations governing offshore wind power. Viale Trento also challenges the mechanisms that impose automatic decisions to the detriment of the protection of the landscape and archaeological heritage, with concessions imposed from above even in highly valuable areas. In some cases, the Region's silent approval has caused disruptions that, combined with the regulatory vacuum, have only served to facilitate the ambitions of speculators: this occurred in Saccargia, where, a short distance from the basilica, a large-scale wind farm project is about to be built, hotly contested by the committees. According to the Regional Council, the national law on suitable areas is considered to be in breach of statutory prerogatives. The Government also intends to have its say on all this before the Supreme Court. Still, it's still unclear when the Council meeting will be held, but rumors are filtering through from the capital that it will be convened within a reasonable timeframe.
