«Pratobello Law», also signed on August 15th: questions and answers, everything you need to know

1 ) What does the Pratobello Law consist of?

It is a popular initiative bill that aims to “ban” energy speculation in Sardinia. It aims to urbanize all areas worthy of protection and enhancement, imposing specific “bans” to avoid the irreversible upheaval of the regional territory.

2 ) What is the substantial difference between the Pratobello law and the moratorium approved by the Regional Council?

The main difference is effectiveness. The moratorium law is a transitory measure, ineffective both in terms of procedures and implementations, the Pratobello Law proposes stringent, immediate (they would come into force on the same day of the approval of the law) and effective urban constraints and prohibitions both in the authorization and implementation phases of the plants.

3) Why is the proposed popular initiative law based on art.3 letter “f” of the Statute?

Article three, letter “f”, of the Sardinian Statute is a constitutional provision that assigns the Region the “primary” power of planning its regional territory. This provision is the only legislative instrument that has so far governed the dispute with the State also in the constitutional seat, see the ruling of the High Court of 7 June last that reaffirmed the power of the Region to plan urbanistically also in the matter of renewable energy.

4 ) Why were the landscape skills provided for by the Implementation Regulations of 1975 not used?

The implementing provisions of 1975, which had also "transferred" all the competences relating to landscape planning to the Region, have been eroded over time with the "transfer" to the State of "mandatory" co-planning. In practice, the Region can no longer decide on the "landscape" without the approval and authorization of the State, starting with the Superintendencies. In addition to this, the State in recent years, from the Draghi decree onwards, has repeatedly foreseen and reiterated the "pre-eminence" of renewables over "Landscape" and "Cultural Heritage".

5) What does “preeminence” of renewables over landscape and cultural heritage mean?

It means that the State considers “Landscape” and “Cultural Heritage” values that succumb to the interest considered “superior” of the “energy transition”. “Preeminence” that the State cannot exercise, however, on the “urban planning” norm because in the case of Sardinia it is the primary competence of the Sardinian Statute.

6) Has this hierarchy been enshrined in specific rules?

The latest in chronological order was approved a week ago with the adoption by the Council of Ministers of the “Consolidated Law on Renewable Energy” in which, in article three, it is established that wind and photovoltaic plants «are considered to be of prevalent public interest».

7 ) Has the Government already exercised this supremacy-preeminence of renewables over landscape and cultural heritage?

The Government has already exercised this prevalence in the case of the wind farm that concerns the area of the Basilica of Saccargia. Despite the contrary opinion of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage to that project, which involves the replacement of 70-meter blades with others over 200 meters high, the Government has deemed it necessary to exercise the "prevalence" of interest in favor of that project rather than the protection of the Basilica and the surrounding Nuragic territory.

8) ) Has the State used the urban planning regulation to intervene on the issue of renewables?

Yes, the Government proposed and then had Parliament approve, on July 12, a decree-law that intervenes on the issue of renewables through an “urban planning” ban imposed in the “e” zones, classified as agricultural.

9) Is the urban planning regulation used by the State for agricultural areas also valid in Sardinia?

The law approved by Parliament safeguards the competences of the Regions with special statutes. In this case, Sardinia, having primary competence in “urban planning” matters, has two possibilities: to implement the national legislation with its own law, or to regulate “urban planning”, autonomously, the matter of renewables, considering their impact on the government of the territory. If the Region were not to regulate its territory “urban planning”, it would find itself faced with a “ vacatio legis ”, absence of legislation, with all the consequences.

10) Why is the identification of suitable areas not included in the Pratobello law?

The Pratobello Law acknowledges that the Sardinian Region has already identified the unsuitable areas, and recalls them all punctually in article two, but, instead of leaving the constraint undefined, it transforms it into a ban, precisely to prevent interpretative loopholes from constituting a free pass for energy speculation. The national law then states: "Areas not included among the suitable areas cannot be declared unsuitable." This means that according to the State, all areas, in the end, will be considered suitable, albeit with different procedures. The definition of the unsuitable areas provided for in the Pratobello Law provides that 98.8% of the regional territory is "unsuitable" and therefore "prohibited" for energy speculation.

11 ) Is the 6.2 GW threshold envisaged in the decree on suitable areas also contemplated by Pratobello?

The definition of quotas is a state competence, the "Pratobello" cannot enter into the merits of those quantities, it limits itself to regulating the urban planning of the territory, indicating solutions for the ecological transition of the Island, using in a "Sardinian" way the "concurrent" competence in terms of energy production.

12) Why is the extension of the Regional Landscape Plan not contemplated in the popular initiative?

The extension of the Landscape Plan is excluded for two reasons: expanding it would mean handing over to the State the government of the internal areas, due to the co-planning that has become mandatory, and on the other hand it would have no effect on the issue of wind and photovoltaic invasion due to the supremacy "clause" imposed by the State.

13) What would the Pratobello Law block if approved?

The ban concerns the construction of wind, photovoltaic, agrivoltaic and fossil fuel plants in all areas defined as "unsuitable". With the Pratobello law those areas, from natural oases to agricultural areas, from mountain areas to those affected by archaeological heritage, from urban and rural landscapes, are "urbanistically" regulated and prohibited from energy-speculative devastation.

14) What kind of effect would the Pratobello Law have on offshore wind farms?

There is an “urban planning ban” on building “landings”, transformation and connection plants within areas deemed “unsuitable”.

15) Would the legislation contained in the popular initiative also block the Tyrrhenian Link cable?

Similarly to offshore installations, there is an "urban planning ban" on building landing places for "infrastructures" that are not necessary for the energy balance of Sardinia and are not foreseen in the Regional Energy Plan.

16) What effects would the “Pratobello” have on the authorizations already issued and on the construction sites in progress?

In analogy with a state law on renewables, in particular the one concerning the ban on building wind farms in all municipalities that gravitate towards the Einstein Telescope area, the law provides for the nullity of all authorizations already issued. The “Pratobello” law also provides for the blocking of construction sites where the damage caused to the territory is not irreversible. A threshold of 30% of the project is set, in analogy with other regional laws already passed in the past. If less than three out of ten blades have been erected, the construction site must be stopped.

17) Should the region pay damages by blocking construction sites?

It is possible that the Region will be called to compensate any damages that the judicial authority should recognize to the owner of the initiative. In this case it is clear that the public interest in the protection of the asset should prevail, with the awareness that the protection of an environmental, cultural or landscape heritage, can entail a burden with respect to errors that the Public Administration or the institutions have committed.

18) Is the Pratobello Law against renewable energy?

The “Pratobello” is the most innovative and advanced proposal for “ecological transition” in Italy. It plans to manage the energy game of the Island in a public way, it includes a plan for the “Hydrogen Island” aiming at the energy independence of Sardinia through municipal, inter-municipal, provincial and regional energy communities.

19) Does the popular initiative include “energy communities”?

Yes. It is a fundamental step in the legislative proposal. The Pratobello Law provides a plan of public incentives for the creation of “Sardinian” energy communities, in order to promote direct impacts of the energy transition on Sardinian citizens and businesses, rather than lobbies and multinationals.

20) What is the energy of the future contemplated in “Pratobello”?

The law indicates the energy strategy in a precise way. Sardinia must protect its primary asset, landscape, environment and cultural heritage, and at the same time it must enhance its energy potential in a "public" and "Sardinian" way, aiming for energy independence through the most advanced frontier of hydrogen. The objective is the creation of advanced innovative processes such as the use of linear photovoltaic networks to be built along the "middles" of the main roads of the Island, on the use of all available covered surfaces, from the roofs of houses to non-restricted public buildings, from covered parking lots to industrial and artisan warehouses, extending all the benefits to Sardinian citizens, their communities and Sardinian businesses.