The Golfo degli Angeli dotted with wind turbines hundreds of meters high, the postcard views loved by the people of Cagliari and tourists compromised forever. The heavy damage caused to tourism, the economy and the landscape cascades. The many wind projects that threaten the sea of the capital were at the center of the round table in which the mayor of Cagliari Massimo Zedda, the entrepreneur Rosi Sgaravatti and the president of Federpesca Renato Murgia took part.

A series of wind projects threaten the Golfo degli Angeli, Luna Rossa’s training ground and a development engine for sailing. If “Sardegna 1” were approved, for example, 37 300-meter-high turbines would be visible from Cagliari. What are the effects on the landscape, fishing and tourism?

Massimo Zedda (mayor of Cagliari): «Undoubtedly negative. In a city and a territory that are growing on the back of tourism and new job opportunities related to the protection of the environment, the sea and the coasts, it would be a big problem, all three sectors would be heavily affected. I wonder: what would the benefits be? We are not talking about public initiatives for citizens, but private interventions that exploit an environment and a landscape of extraordinary beauty without any advantage for the community, determining an objective speculation. In some simulations, the wind turbines can already be seen from Poetto and other beaches. But Cagliari is developing in height, so the impact would be significant, you would see much more than what the simulations show, they would stain the wonderful panoramas that can be enjoyed from Castello, Tuvumannu, Tuvixeddu, San Michele, Monte Claro, Calamosca, Sant'Elia, the Sella del Diavolo. From the terrace of the Bastione di Saint Remy, to be clear, they would be very visible».

Rosi Sgaravatti (entrepreneur and president of the Italian association of builders and green professionals): «Something must be done to guarantee a future for the Earth, clean energy is important, but I believe that placing wind turbines in the Golfo degli Angeli is not the best choice. I think that there are corners of Sardinia that could accommodate them without creating major problems, perhaps in degraded areas, certainly not in the sea that the capital overlooks».

Renato Murgia (regional president of Federpesca): «The impact would be catastrophic. Certainly damaging for tourism, devastating for fleets that would no longer be able to fish in areas that are now strategic. We must keep in mind that the turbines will be “protected” by buffer zones where navigation will be strictly prohibited. Fishing in Sardinia today involves 11,000 people and has a turnover of over 100 million, 70 percent in the wholesale market of Cagliari. The cables for transporting energy will create other problems and will be added to other networks for transporting data that wind along the seabed».

Have you met with representatives of the companies proposing the projects?

Zedda: «They do not cross the threshold of the Municipalities because the interest in illustrating, telling and correcting the projects is pressing only when in the Municipalities there is a specific decision-making power, which today is elsewhere. We are faced with initiatives that have the appearance of new easements and we have no weapons to defend ourselves».

Sgaravatti: «Obviously, no one has knocked on our door to show us the papers. If that had happened, I would have pointed out that these projects can probably find another location that creates fewer problems».

Murgia: «The meeting took place during a meeting of the Fishing Committee. At that meeting we unanimously expressed a negative opinion based on the serious damage they would cause to the sector and the safety risks raised by the Maritime Directorate of Cagliari and Olbia. The Nora 1 and Nora 2 parks would hinder the ships' route, even if the companies that want to install them have claimed the opposite».

Where would you place new wind and photovoltaic farms?

Zedda: «In the areas already compromised. Confartigianato has done an interesting study on the roof surfaces of industrial and artisan warehouses – there are also public ones available – which could be lined with photovoltaic systems. It would be a significant contribution to obtaining energy from renewable sources without causing damage. Photovoltaic systems for private individuals and hydroelectricity should be encouraged. A recent study claims that the latter's production can be doubled. I would add that it would be very useful to adopt some measures for energy saving».

Sgaravatti: «We have installed photovoltaic panels on the company's roofs to meet our needs. I would not place large systems near the Basilica of Saccargia or the Nuragic palace of Barumini, never near monuments and landscapes that represent our history. I would be in favor of installing them in degraded areas».

Murgia: «We don't have degraded areas in the sea, so we need to identify spaces that don't penalize fishing and commercial traffic in general. We need to understand what the return is for the Sardinians of a choice that has serious implications. I'll give you a very simple example: twenty kilometers from Cagliari there is Saras which has a crazy environmental impact, despite this we pay the highest price for diesel in Italy. Do we want to continue on this path with renewable energy? A municipality that has to open a small outlet to the sea in a lagoon blocked by sand must submit it to an Environmental Impact Assessment which, if all goes well, takes two years. These companies instead have a preferential lane for 300-meter-high wind turbines. Does that seem fair to you?».

How can speculation be stopped?

Zedda: «Sardinia's mistake during the Solinas administration was to wait too long to pass stringent regulations. The Draghi government took advantage of this by removing the responsibility for the authorization process from the Regions, Municipalities and Metropolitan Cities. Alone we are destined to defeat. The problem is national, we share it with Puglia and Sicily, Ravenna is no exception, as are many other regions: we need to hold a referendum to ensure that energy is public, on the model of the one done in its time for water. It is essential to give communities back the ability to decide. Today the system of local authorities has the same say as any association that presents an observation to the project. If we need to build energy autonomy, let's evaluate how to achieve it. No one is against renewables, it is right that there is an energy supply for the Sardinians and local companies in relation to consumption, but if the kilowatt hours produced by very private multinationals benefit others we will have another servitude at home. We must be careful with onshore wind power: the rush to grab land to install turbines risks costing agricultural businesses dearly. A national referendum would bring order to this confusion. The mobilization should start from the Regions, I am sure that the Government would not ignore millions of signatures. Otherwise I fear that these giants will be able to do what they want, slipping into the folds of the laws, as has already happened".

Sgaravatti: «I don't know what the right path is. I'm a bit hesitant about the timing of the referendum, I have doubts about the final outcome. I would be in favor of a negotiation with the State with the aim of making our specific problems understood and finding a solution».

Murgia: «On our own we do not have the strength to be interlocutors of the State. The union of the Regions is fundamental, if it brought a couple of million votes it would be easier to be heard. We cannot be left out of the decision-making process on our territory, but that is what is happening».

While waiting for the referendum, speculation would be stepping on the accelerator. In the field there is the Pratobello bill proposal and a complaint filed with the Sardinian Prosecutors for the violation of the rules on landscape protection: how do you evaluate them?

Zedda: «I would transform the Pratobello into a national initiative, replicated with much larger numbers, on a theme that cuts across political lines. I am convinced that the announcement of the start of the referendum procedures would be enough to influence the Government's choices. Given the location of the wind turbines so conspicuous, I believe there are also concerns regarding the European regulations that protect the landscape. The real issue, however, is the future: we have already seen what has happened in the past, they have left us devastation and costs for reclamation, mines and quarries to restore, pollution of the aquifers, abandoned warehouses, the illusion of gold in Furtei. Just think of the future costs of removing the wind turbines: who will shoulder them?».

Sgaravatti: «We need to protect the environment, eliminate coal, I am not afraid of the new generation of small ultra-safe nuclear power plants. In the meantime, I would not be against following the line expressed with 210 thousand signatures for the Pratobello law».

Murgia: «I would continue with the collection of signatures for the referendum and all the initiatives already in the field, things do not conflict with each other».

Everyone says: “I’m not against renewables, but…”.

Zedda: «...they must be made by the public for the benefit of businesses, citizens, and not to enrich someone who destroys our landscape».

Sgaravatti: «...they must be implemented with full knowledge of the facts for effective environmental protection».

Murgia: «...I am against the destruction of our invaluable environmental resources».

Enrico Fresu

Fabio Manca

Paul Paolini

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