The State retains control of the energy transition and can directly identify suitable areas for renewable energy plants, but it cannot eliminate all checks at UNESCO sites, nor replace the Regions in amending the content of their laws.
This is the principle affirmed by the Constitutional Court's ruling 197 of 2026, filed today, which ruled on the Sardinia Region's appeal against certain provisions of national legislation on areas suitable for renewable energy plants.
According to Ansa, the Constitutional Court rejected most of the regional objections and confirmed the framework of the national reform , recognizing that "the need to ensure the widest possible diffusion of renewable energy plants constitutes a fundamental principle of the matter."
The Court thus upholds the national regulations on suitable areas, rejects the objections regarding port and offshore areas, and reiterates that the Regions cannot introduce blanket bans on the construction of facilities.
However, the first ground of appeal, concerning the State's substitute powers, was upheld . According to the Constitutional Court, the Government can intervene in the event of inertia on the part of the Region, but cannot replace a regional legislator that has already passed its own law. The contested provision, the Court noted, transformed the substitute power "into a tool for overseeing the content of regional legislative decisions."
The passage on UNESCO sites is relevant: the Court declares illegitimate the article that allowed a series of interventions using renewable sources in UNESCO protection areas under a free activity regime, therefore without authorizations or prior checks.
According to the Constitutional Court, the state legislator's decision resulted in "an absolute presumption regarding the 'harmless' nature of the interventions with respect to cultural, landscape, and environmental values." This presumption, the judges consider incompatible with the protection obligations arising from the UNESCO Convention and Article 9 of the Constitution.
The ruling specifically references the sites of Su Nuraxi di Barumini and the Domus de Janas , cited by the Region in its appeal. In the central passage of the decision, the Court states that "the exceptional universal value of the protected property makes it constitutionally necessary to maintain an administrative assessment capable of verifying whether the proposed intervention, although theoretically modest, is in practice compatible with the protection and conservation requirements arising from UNESCO recognition."
The Consulta also highlights a "paradox": UNESCO recognition, "rather than constituting the basis for strengthened protection," ended up "not being supported by any specific compatibility verification mechanism."
The Court concludes that "the interest in building renewable energy plants cannot always automatically prevail over the interest in protecting the landscape."
