Far from being a barrier against the wind and photovoltaic assault: the Ministry of the Environment considers the Sardinian law on suitable areas that the Regional Council approved last December 5th to be illegitimate, and does not apply it. The regulatory castle on which the Todde government has staked everything on the subject of (attempted) regulation of renewables is built on a passage of the "Suitable Areas" decree issued by the Mase in June 2024, based on the indications of the Draghi Government of 2021. That, precisely, which left the Regions a margin to set limits on where and how to install wind turbines and panels in their territory. But that article was suspended by the Council of State, with an ordinance: it happened in December. While waiting for the final judgment on the appeal that froze everything, in Rome they consider the Sardinian law ineffective. So much so that on March 13th, two days ago, two agrivoltaic plants with raised panels that will be built in the Oristano area were authorized. Two authorized copycat projects that will transform over 200 hectares in the Solarussa, Zerfaliu, Tramatza, Siamaggiore and Zeddiani countryside.
The decree
The general director of the Environmental Assessments service of Mase writes it clearly. The documents are two identical decrees that express "positive judgment on the environmental compatibility" of the "Tramatza" and "Solariu" solar farms proposed by the same company, Ef Agri Società Agricola, which through the "parent" Ef Solare Italia is headed by the Italian investment giant F2i (70%) and the French Crédit Agricole Assurances (30%). The provision describes the regulatory context. And it acknowledges the fact that "the Sardinia Region has issued the regional law of 5 December 2024 number 20 (...) with which it has identified the areas and surfaces suitable and unsuitable for the installation of renewable energy source systems". But we also consider «the order of the Council of State which suspended as a precautionary measure the article of the decree “Suitable Areas” of 21 June 2024 of the Mase, in the part in which the Regions seem to be left with the power to restrict the scope of application of the areas defined as suitable». The second-instance administrative judges had established «that the Regions had to guarantee compliance with the suitable areas already identified by national laws without discretion, until the decision on the merits has not yet been taken». The consequence is clear: from these assumptions «the illegitimacy of any regulatory provision of regional rank follows which, in identifying the suitable areas, finds room to affect, in a restrictive sense, the minimum of suitable areas identified by the state legislator».
The consequences
The Council of State has not yet made a final decision on the appeals presented by some operators in the renewable energy sector. In the meantime, in the Mase offices they act as if the Sardinian law does not exist. The guiding light is the national one: "The fundamental principles established by the State legislation constitute the implementation of the Union directives, which show a favor for renewable energy sources". The projects, if there are no other constraints, are approved. Even if the Region says no: now it does not count.
