PIEDMONT – The Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry have the installation of photovoltaics with standard ground modules in agricultural areas is prohibited, only allowing the installation of agrivoltaic systems. An approach, albeit simply in the form of a resolution with indications for the regional territory, anticipated by the Piedmont Region since last August.
“With the latest decisions taken by the Government, the work carried out by the Agriculture Department and Directorate of our region is enhanced” underlined the regional councilor for Agriculture “thanks to the commitment and constructive dialogue with the organizations of agricultural entrepreneurs, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Environment and Territory and the Provinces, we have contributed and will contribute to maintaining or increasing Piedmontese agricultural production in harmony with the development of energy production systems from renewable sources, but without consumption of other agricultural land with standard ground-mounted photovoltaic panels”.
“With our resolution, the Region indicated for its entire territory to install agrivoltaic systems on particularly valuable agricultural land, as defined by the resolution itself. From 4 August 2023 the aforementioned resolution will act on the Piedmontese territory, with excellent results in protecting the agricultural potential of agricultural areas”.
In an agrivoltaic system, agricultural production suffers a loss of 30%, while energy production suffers a loss from 20% for the simplest systems up to 40% (limit foreseen by the guidelines published on the MASE website), thus creating a real balance between agricultural and energy interests. “Just these days” concluded the regional councilor “in the province of Alessandria, the resolution prevented the installation of a standard non-integrated photovoltaic system, which would have occupied an agricultural area of approximately 53 ha, completely canceling agricultural production on that area, included in the area of one of the most famous regional PGI products, the hazelnut, and partially in a land use capacity class of high agricultural value”.
“The decision to issue this resolution was taken at the beginning of 2023, when it was realised, from the projects that were analysed, that the criteria with which the areas on which to install standard and non-integrated ground-mounted photovoltaic systems were selected were mainly the cost of the land and the proximity to an existing or installable energy delivery substation, regardless of the concentration of plants that would then be created and the agricultural potential of the area”.
Photo by Sebastian Ganso from Pixabay
