Mogorella's mayor blocks new wind farms: "They pose a health risk."

In the heart of Alta Marmilla, tensions between renewable energy development and public health protection are exploding.

With ordinance no. 16 of December 16, the mayor of Mogorella, Lorenzo Carcangiu, imposed a halt to the authorization procedures relating to new wind farms and a large energy storage system.

"I am ordering a precautionary suspension until the health risk for the residents and the environment in our area is resolved," the mayor emphasizes, "and at the same time, I am requesting a cumulative health impact assessment for the projects and facilities that are planned. Furthermore," Carcangiu adds, "I am requesting that the BESS be halted and that a health impact assessment be included in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for each project or facility."

The measure stems from the observation that, in an area of just 17 km², numerous infrastructures are already concentrated: the Monte Grighine wind farm with 43 turbines (11 within the municipality), a transformer station, the 220 kV Terna substation, and two high-voltage power lines. In addition, there are ongoing projects: the 37.8 MW Mogorella-Sant'Antonio Wind Farm, the 50.4 MW Serra e Mesu Wind Farm, and the battery system authorized by Mase.

According to Mayor Carcangiu, the scale of the planned works risks transforming the small town into a national energy hub, with direct impacts on the population and surrounding farms.

"This is an anomalous and disproportionate concentration of plants," the ordinance states, "which are located extremely close to residential areas and industrial activities." The mayor's decision is based on the precautionary principle enshrined in Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and implemented in the Environmental Code. In the absence of scientific certainty about the risks, local authorities must prevent potential health risks.

Hence the request to the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security to suspend the proceedings and require the proponents to prepare a VIS (Visual Assessment Report) and the Oristano Local Health Authority (ASL) to prepare an integrated health assessment. The measure also has political significance, addressing the demands of the "Alta Marmilla" citizens' committee, which for months has been denouncing "wind and photovoltaic speculation" and calling for a comprehensive assessment of the impacts on the community.

The game now moves to the institutional tables. The ordinance has been forwarded to the Ministry of Health, the Region, ARPA, and the Prefecture. Mogorella becomes a symbol of an increasingly widespread conflict: energy transition, yes, but not at the expense of the health and quality of life of local communities.