The sector's companies criticized it but the Council of Ministers still approved the draft legislative decree for the production of energy from renewable sources. Three ministers - Public Administration Paul Zangrillo, Institutional Reforms Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati and Environment Gilberto Pichetto Fratin– they signed it and presented it at a press conference. The world of renewables complains of inconsistencies with national and European strategies on renewables and Pichetto admits that the text is a mediation. RES plants (Renewable Energy Sources) are the beating heart of the energy transition, barring problems like this one which looms in terms of construction times. For the government there are three tracks along which to build new plants: free activity, the simplified authorization procedure or the single authorisation. We want to standardize the procedures towards the goal of the 200 simplified procedures envisaged by the PNRR. The measure establishes that free activity does not require acts of consent or declarations, except in the case of landscape restrictions, cases in which the authority must express its opinion within thirty days.
For Pichetto, today's general picture is clarified by "stimulating private initiative in the best way compared to the past with certain rules and transparency over time". The simplified authorization procedure concerns projects that do not require approval procedures permitting and are not subject to environmental assessments. The cases of the implants count and they range from a minimum of 30 days to a maximum of 75 to complete the procedure. The Single Authorization application must be presented to the Region for plants under 300 megawatts, beyond that threshold it is necessary to contact the MASE. Here the most substantial cases concern offshore plants on which Regions such as Sardinia have already passed their own regulations. The procedure - clarifies the minister - can last from 175 to 420 days.
Simplify? There's really no talking about it, replies the world of renewables. The government is introducing elements of complication rather than simplification, say entrepreneurs. “It seems like every opportunity is a good one introduce some obstacles on the path of authorization and management of RES plants and not even this draft decree is an exception - he says Attilio Piattelli, president of the FREE Coordination”. Having defined the 2030 objectives for the development and construction of RES, the legislative acts should be aimed at achieving them. “We must note that the recent Suitable Areas Decree and the regulatory reorganization go exactly in the opposite direction: complicating rather than simplifying”. In short, the government once again intends the energy transition in its own way. The capacity for dialogue with companies is reduced and ready-made investments are penalised. The mediation that Minister Pichetto talks about is equivalent to a sacrifice on the part of businesses. Until ?
