Photovoltaic, the environmentalists: "Yes to land-based systems"

Greenpeace, Italia Solare, Legambiente and WWF are asking the government to identify synergies between photovoltaics and agriculture. In other words, they are asking the government not to block photovoltaic plants on the ground while Palazzo Chigi has challenged 240 MW already authorized and the authorizations, even for renewables, remain a path full of obstacles. Just Thursday, the president and CEO of Shell Italia, in an interview with FIRSTonline, posed the problem of investments blocked by bureaucracy and vetoes, even in photovoltaics where the group has planned massive investments to install 1 GigaWatt over the next 5 years. His proposal is to entrust to a commissioner - on the model of the Genoa Bridge - the realization of the objectives of the Pniec in the photovoltaic sector.

"Pollution and climate change require a decisive change of pace and as foreseen in the PNIEC, a minimum of 32 GWp of new photovoltaic systems is needed, which will not find sufficient space on the roofs alone", write the four associations that certainly cannot be accused of wanting to devastate the territory. 

According to Greenpeace, Italia Solare, Legambiente and WWF, in order to achieve the objectives of the National Climate and Environment Plan and keep faith with the commitment made with Brussels which approved it, "it is necessary to strongly encourage the revamping and repowering of existing plants as a first measure able to immediately increase the installed capacity, but it is not enough. The 32 GW of new photovoltaic systems cannot objectively be built in 10 years only on roofs and contaminated areas. In fact, it is necessary to create the conditions so that photovoltaic systems can also be installed on agricultural land that does not have conditions such as to allow a profitable agricultural activity and does not have valuable characteristics from an environmental point of view", they state in a joint note.

"Photovoltaic - explain the associations – can very well support crops with the advantage, for the farmer, of benefiting from a supplementary income capable of helping his agricultural activity”.

The associations estimate that to reach the additional 30 megawatts of electricity production from renewable sources (FER), only 30-40% can be installed on roofs. The rest will necessarily have to come from ground plants which, they say, "can very well be placed side by side with crops with the advantage, for the farmer, of benefiting from a supplementary income capable of helping his business". According to their calculations, “approximately 40-70 thousand hectares of agricultural land will be needed, equal to 0,2-0,4% of available arable land. It is a fact that currently it is a regulatory framework in force which does not favor the protection of agricultural land, hence the proposal of the associations to give an order and a programming to the installation of plants in these areas also with a view to safeguarding and protecting the land itself.

It is important to identify objective, reasonable and readily available parameters - explain the associations -, in order not to slow down the development of photovoltaics (which we urgently need) but also in support of the agricultural enterprises themselves, which can see in the production of renewable energy a development of their business or generate from the concession of sites to photovoltaic precious sums for investments in one's business, too maintaining the agricultural activity between the rows of photovoltaic modules.

From this point of view - write the associations - it is essential that by the European delegation law submitted for consultation by the Presidency of the Council, changes are introduced that make it possible to combine photovoltaics and agricultural activities: today the definition is too vague and lends itself to interpretations that result in a total block of the activity.

"We therefore ask the legislator - conclude the associations - to create the conditions for reconciling the necessary growth of renewable energies also on land with the surrounding environment, with a long-term strategy this time and thanks to an in-depth analysis of the impacts of photovoltaics on the environment and agriculture without prejudice. At the same time, we believe it is absolutely necessary to avoid that, pending this definition, the development of photovoltaics is blocked by impromptu regulations, which would further distance Italy from the pre-established objectives”.

It can be downloaded here letter from the associations to the government. It was signed by the four presidents of Greenpeace, Italia Solare, Legambiente and WWF in Italy.