A ticking time bomb on the destruction of natural ecosystems. Sardinia risks becoming an island of wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries, underestimating the environmental and landscape risks. Terna data, updated as of September 30, demonstrates the risk of an irreversible disaster: connection requests to the national transmission grid operator total 44.52 gigawatts, compared to the 6.2 gigawatt quota definitively assigned to Sardinia in 2025, by decree of Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister for Energy Transition (MASE).

The scenario

Solar, onshore wind, and offshore turbines: based on the number of applications submitted, 597 in total, the rush to Sardinia follows this precise order. There are 364 requests for installing photovoltaic panels, including in the Sardinian countryside. This figure drops to 210 for wind turbines to be aligned on plains and hills. Twenty-three offshore wind projects have a total installable capacity of 14.58 gigawatts, more than onshore turbines, which only have a capacity of 14.29 gigawatts. For solar, the figure rises to 15.65.

The overrun

With a total of 44.52 gigawatts of connection requests, the limit of 6.2 gigawatts, which the Region considered excessive even in the first version of the decree, is seven times higher.

Terna data also shows that, of the 597 total connection requests, 233 have been accepted, equal to an installable power of 17.95 gigawatts. The breakdown is as follows: 130 applications are for solar, 89 for onshore wind, and 14 for offshore. Ninety connection requests are under evaluation, equal to 5.16 gigawatts. Furthermore, 224 applications have already received approval (13.09 gigawatts). Forty-three applications are still awaiting a decision (7.80 gigawatts), while contracts have already been signed for seven cases (0.52 gigawatts).

Alessandra Carta