Renewables, green light for simplifications: three tracks to speed up procedures, but operators critical

Green light from the Council of Ministers to the single text for the simplification of administrative procedures for green energy plants, storage systems and related works. The measure, preliminarily approved, is the result of the agreement between three ministries (Environment, Public Administration and Reforms) and responds to the objectives also set out in the NRP. Compared to the hitherto very jagged mosaic, the single text reduces the tracks for the development of green sources to three: free activity, simplified enabling procedure (PAS) and single authorisation. But the operators, starting with the most representative associations such as Elettricità Futura, did not fail to express perplexity even as the measure was being finalised, because it would introduce stakes in some cases in which no further authorisations were needed until now.

But let's see in detail what the new measure provides for. The first track introduced is that of free activity, which applies, for example, to all solar plants under 10 megawatts, without any particular modification of the structure on which they are installed or occupation of land to that of the roof on which they are built, but also to the modification of existing plants (read upgrading or refurbishment). For this type of intervention, no consent deeds or declarations are required except in the case of landscape constraints. And it is on this last point that the criticism of renewable energy operators has been very much focused.

In fact, the measure introduces some exceptions, first of all when the new installation or remodelling of an existing project is on protected property or in protected natural areas: in this case, the Pas regime applies. If, on the other hand, this type of installation or remodelling relates to assets such as villas or parks that are not protected but are of uncommon beauty, or complexes of things that have a particular aesthetic value (including historical centres and nuclei), a longer procedure is triggered with the intervention of the superintendence, which must express a binding opinion (and which, if negative, blocks the process) and with the request subject to the OK of the authority protecting the landscape constraint, with a lengthening of the time required to request more in-depth preliminary investigations.

A deadline, the latter, which can be up to 45 days and on which, as mentioned, Elettricità Futura expressed its opposition with reference to already installed plants because it 'introduces unnecessary costs and bureaucratic red tape' as it envisages a new authorisation for these projects as well. Other limitations concern the possibility of applying the mechanism of 'silence assent' (in the presence of one or more constraints on this front, the approval of the authority in charge of protecting it is required) also for projects related to renewable plants.

The second regime, on the other hand, concerns projects that do not require permitting procedures and are not subject to environmental assessments. The measure envisages different cases depending on whether the application does not present any obstacles or is, instead, subject to municipal and/or other administrations' constraints. In the absence of prescriptions, the permit is deemed to have been issued within 30 days (which increases to 45 days if more than one act of consent is required, or to 75 if the services conference is convened).