Renewable energy uprising in Sardinia, Italy’s coal island

The screws holding the towering wind turbine in place were loosened under the cover of darkness, an act of sabotage that symbolized fierce opposition to renewable energy in Sardinia.

Long summers and strong winds make the Italian island a prime location for wind and solar energy, but strong investor interest has spooked locals who say Sardinia is being exploited.

The loosened screws were discovered before the turbine toppled on the edge of the village of Mamoiada, but it was one of several facilities destroyed this year as regional authorities drew up rules governing where clean energy structures can be built.

“There is a vehement rejection of renewable energy. The situation is really heated, the vandalism is an attempt to intimidate political decision-makers,” said Marta Battaglia, head of the environmental group Legambiente in Sardinia.

“People say renewable energy scares us… and it’s ruining the landscape, and so we’re going to lose our identity,” she said.

There has been similar opposition to renewable energy in other European countries such as Britain and France.

“But (in Sardinia) the landscape is already being changed by climate change,” Battaglia said.

The once lush hinterland of the Mediterranean island is ravaged by drought and in summer wildfires sweep through the forests and send smoke billowing over the white sandy beaches.

According to the environmental research and protection institute ISPRA, it is also the Italian region that emits the most greenhouse gases per capita to warm the planet.

Sardinia relies largely on coal. In 2022, around 74 percent of electricity came from burning biomass or fossil fuels. Most of it came from coal.

However, Italy is gradually phasing out coal-fired power plants. The two in Sardinia are scheduled to close in 2028.

‘Invasion’

Still, regional president Alessandra Todde was elected in February on a promise to stop what she called the “renewable energy invasion” after a surge in permit applications.

Critics say big companies are trying to install large plants that produce far more electricity than Sardinia needs and send the surplus to the rest of Italy.

A new power corridor to the mainland is scheduled to open in 2028.

The surplus could also be kept in Sardinia to produce hydrogen for use in industries that are difficult to decarbonize.

Investors have taken advantage of the lack of national guidelines on regional regulations over the past two years.

Sardinia needs to add 6.2 gigawatts (GW) of green energy to the current 2.78 GW by 2030 to help Italy meet the European Union’s goals to curb climate change.

Italian electricity grid company Terna said it had received 804 requests to connect renewable energy to the grid in Sardinia, totaling about 54 GW. Only 0.4 GW was approved.

‘Unsuitable’

The national guidelines were finally published in June.

But Todde kept her campaign promise and in July ordered an 18-month moratorium on new green projects, including those that had been approved but work had not yet begun.

The government said it would challenge the lawsuit in court.

According to the solar lobby Elettricita Future, in order to achieve the 2030 target, an additional 1 GW of green electricity must be installed in Sardinia per year, compared to the current 0.2 GW. Without the construction of large photovoltaic or wind turbines, this amount will hardly be achieved.

Undeterred, Todde last month unveiled a new renewable energy framework that is due to come into force by the end of the year.

According to the decree, “most of Sardinia will be unsuitable,” she said.

Santolo Meo, a professor of electrical engineering at the Federico II University of Naples, said that “instead of bans,” the rules “aim to show how renewable energy can be reconciled with the protection of habitats.”

“Sardinia, for example, is one of the few regions that could use tidal energy very profitably far offshore,” he said.

Experts say the new regulations mean 99 percent of the island is now off limits. And the moratorium hasn’t stopped the protests.

“Hands off Sardinia”

Protesters chanting “Hands off Sardinia!” gathered at the regional parliament in Cagliari last week, calling for renewable energy to be limited to rooftops and local energy community projects.

“We have to produce energy for Sardinia, for our own homes,” 36-year-old Davide Meloni from a local group “Territorial Defense” told AFP. He criticized “attempts by multinational corporations to colonize the island.”

Other Italian regions have also seen a surge in permit applications, but environmentalists blame influential media outlets for the backlash in Sardinia, saying they are fueling a distorted narrative about renewable energy.

The demonstrators in Cagliari blamed big business, Rome and the EU.

“Sardinia is synonymous with wild landscapes and immaculate beauty,” said 54-year-old Marta Rosas as she pointed across the bay from the seaside protest to a mountainous region beyond.

“It is what we inherited from our ancestors and we are fighting to preserve it for our grandchildren.”

© 2024 AFP