The attack on the landscape does not stop, the threat from agrivoltaics is growing

Moratorium bogeyman or not, the assault does not stop and begins to change shape. Terna's new map for Sardinia says so on requests for connection of renewable energy production plants to the national electricity grid. The latest update sets the framework for June 30th, the previous one was fixed at March 31st. In the last three months, characterized by an unprecedented outcry from public opinion, requests for wind power have slowed down slightly. But the practices for photovoltaics, in its new declination of agrivoltaics, are sketchy - in absolute numbers. The danger signals become even clearer if the comparison is with 2023. In the last 15 months on the renewables front there have been over 11 requests every 30 days, more than one every three (including Sundays), for power greater - sometimes enormously - than 10 Megawatts. The result? The objective of the European plan for the ecological transition requires Sardinia to produce 7.45 Gw of energy from "clean" sources by 2030. If all the requests now pending were successful, production on the island would be 54.39 Gw .

The numbers

The data is official and provided by those who receive the requests: Econnextion is Terna's interactive system on renewable connections. There are 824 "live" cases. Three months ago there were 809. In March 2023 there were "just" 650. The majority, 358, concern the Sassari area, followed by Southern Sardinia with 257, 78 are in the Nuoro area, 89 in the province of Oristano and 42 are those that concern the territory of the metropolitan city of Cagliari. There are 547 connection applications for photovoltaic systems. In March they were stuck at 524. And if you go back 15 months you discover that there were 404. The solar panels, if they were all activated, would produce 23.82 Gw. Only those, therefore, would reach three times the Sardinian production target indicated by the EU.

But there are also onshore wind farms. There are 248 applications to plant shovels in the island's soil, for a production that would amount to 16.72 Gw (more than double the total regional target). There are eight fewer applications pending compared to three months ago, but in this sector the race for wind has been furious: in March last year there were 200 connection requests. However, there are 29 potential offshore wind farms, those made by floating shovels on the sea, off the coast of the island, for a total power of 13.85 Gw: this is the front that seems to have retreated the most after years of protests. Three months ago there were 31 requests, which was 36 fifteen months ago. More than one person has had second thoughts.