If the “Sardegna 1” project were approved, the wind farm with 37 turbines 275 meters high would be visible from Villasimius. What would be the effects on the landscape and tourism?
Dante Sicbaldi (hotelier, owner of fishing and fishing tourism companies): «It is the equivalent of a wall hundreds of meters high that would hide the horizon: it would be the end of Villasimius as we have known it until today. In Sardinia there are few of us and we have little need for energy, why do they want to hit us? A monstrous impact is emerging on an environmental level, that stretch of sea is on the route of cetaceans that would inevitably be modified. Vital space would be taken away from the fishing fleets, local fish is served in hotels and restaurants: what would happen to the business and the workers? They plan to anchor these monsters on very fishy shoals, inflicting the final blow. Today on the coastal road there is a wonderful view of infinity, tomorrow you will see a string of wind turbines. A suicidal choice for a Municipality and a territory that have built a thriving economy with seriousness and commitment, I feel like dying just thinking about it. Do we want to talk about yachtsmen? Sailing is a bit like flying, I think of the noise, the vibrations of these giant propellers, suddenly the Gulf of Angels would have a post-industrial landscape".
Gianluca Dessì (mayor): «The repercussions would be deadly for us who live off the environment and tourism. The problem has been around for a long time, since the Draghi government passed that decree that tramples on every common sense reason with the heel of a violent ecological transition. Today we are picking up the pieces. The problem is not just the installation of the blades, but their removal at the end of their life cycle. Will they stay there or will they float in pieces in the gulf? What are the advantages for the Sardinians? Cuts in the bill? I don't know of any. Spanish, American and Norwegian companies come to Sardinia to cut wood. The infrastructure to be built on land will cause other wounds, kilometers and kilometers of cables will create other problems, as is happening in Selargius with the Thyrrenian link. The Government must change the decisions taken at the time, temper them in the name of reason of State. He also did it recently on a national scale by freeing the Libyan Almasri, accused of infamous crimes, he can do it even more so to protect the citizens of Sardinia from the indiscriminate assault of wind projects".
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Sergio Ghiani (president of the tourist consortium, hotelier and real estate agent): «Multinationals want to speculate on the backs of serious entrepreneurs who have respected the environment and the laws for half a century. They create front companies with 10 thousand euros of capital that do what they want. To modify a pergola in the SIC zones - sites of community importance - there is an endless procedure, while for these monstrosities the road is short and downhill. We are for renewable energy, in Villasimius most of the hotels and villas have photovoltaic panels for self-production, but today we have to defend ourselves from speculation. Cala Caterina is a bit like our Costa Smeralda, the villas cost millions of euros, now we discover that the visual impact there will be spine-chilling. In the real estate sector, the sea view is fundamental, it multiplies the price and overnight they would like to raise a shovel that would make the prices of the entire area collapse: are we crazy? So they cut us off from the global tourist movement, they are attacking us on our most important front. Some time ago they rightly removed those horrendous pylons from Molentargius moving in the direction of protection and now they want to install them infinitely larger in the Gulf of Angels: what logic is that? The country guarantees a salary to thousands of Sardinians, I am sure that everyone, starting with the mayor, is ready to camp out in front of Parliament. The Region and the Government must put their foot down, otherwise it is better for them to go away».
Amedeo Ferrigno (Port Director): «I moved from Capri, I feel Sardinian in every way. I sold both port destinations and Villasimius has had the lion's share. Thank God we have a strategic position, 750 boats come and go from the port every day. The blades would create an unsustainable visual impact and operational problems. Navigation has been replaced by electronics, maps are no longer read, the autopilot takes the boats to their destination: a wall of towers would force the pilots to take the controls, many would be pushed towards other destinations that are easier to reach. The Villasimius marina has a lot of bookings, it is healthy, the Covid period has helped us bring back the Americans, but this way we risk losing them».
Have you ever met the company representatives? What did they propose to you?
Sicbaldi: «Never, I don't know who they are. If I met them and they offered me free electricity I would always say no. They are creating an unsustainable climate, this is how you destroy a territory and starve a population. We redeemed ourselves with work, they want to make us fall back into the poverty and backwardness of other times».
Dessì: «We created the Marine Protected Area in 1998 to protect the environment. Villasimius risks paying a very high price without even being involved in the preliminary investigation phase, it's madness. We are desperate because the weapons available to the Municipalities are very few. We need to deal with Europe, the government must do it. I am disheartened because this assault is well-planned with multinationals that have no regard for the Island».
Ghiani: «No contact, these projects were presented quietly. I don't like the name they use: what is a wind farm? The park is made of trees, not steel poles. Let's call it what it is: an industry that enriches only those who speculate without leaving anything in Sardinia».
Ferrigno: «Never, fortunately».
What can be done to stop the project?
Sicbaldi: «Coordination between the parties is essential, they must row together. We need answers: we are ready for a tough protest, without discounts».
Dessì: "Only the State can intervene. An unprecedented economic and environmental damage is looming. All, and I mean all, parties must intervene immediately."
Ghiani: «The situation is so serious that the government is obliged to negotiate with Europe a relief of the ecological transition, otherwise unsustainable. They did it for cars – which can be sold after 2035 even if they are not electric -, they should address the problem of wind power. The damage to the economy would be enormous, a very dangerous social tension would flare up».
Ferrigno: «The mountain is difficult to climb, but where there’s a will there’s a way, so yes, I think you can change your destiny».
Do you believe in the judicial route?
Sicbaldi: «I hope so, but I'm not convinced».
Dessì: «I am happy that someone is taking this path, but I think that the only solution is mediation with Europe. There must be the political will to find a solution. The Green Deal must be revised, that way we kill the world».
Ghiani: «Europe must intervene, but it is right that the judiciary checks all the practices to understand if there have been irregularities. The fact that the companies have an insignificant share capital, 10 thousand euros despite the billion-dollar business, is suspicious. If I build a hotel I give an adequate financial endowment to the company that owns it, not 10 thousand euros».
Ferrigno: «I hope that the judiciary can block this outrage, even if I doubt it. It is an exclusively political problem».
Where would you put the systems?
Sicbaldi: «Wind power has a real impact, the blades should be authorized only with the approval of the communities. Instead, I would put the panels on the roofs, in the parking lots».
Dessì: «Wind towers must have a very small impact on Sardinia, the solution is photovoltaic panels with a system of incentives for citizens. We are working to create an energy community for the needs of citizens and businesses».
Ghiani: «Wind turbines are not compatible with Sardinia. The evaluation of other systems for producing renewable energy should be done on a Municipality-by-Community basis: public administrators know the possible compatibility better than anyone. In any case, it would be essential to eliminate the royalties paid in bills by citizens to these fake green companies: they should earn from the energy they manage to sell on the free market, period. It would be a kick to speculation, the projects would stop».
Ferrigno: «In Sardinia I would ban wind power, on land and at sea».
