Decree-Law No. 63 of 15 May 2024 (DL 63/2024) on “Urgent provisions for agricultural, fishing and aquaculture enterprises, as well as for enterprises of national strategic interest” was converted into Law No. 101 of 12 July 2024, published in the Official Gazette General Series No. 163 of 13 July 2024 and entered into force on 14 July (the “Law No. 101/2024”, together with DL 63/2024 the “DL Agricoltura”).
Article 5, paragraph 1 of DL Agricoltura, introduces a new paragraph 1-bis in Article 20 of Legislative Decree no. 199/2021, setting forth the “Regulations for the identification of surfaces and areas suitable for the installation of renewable source plants”, providing that the installation of photovoltaic plants with ground-mounted modules in sites classified as agricultural by the applicable urban plans is allowed only on certain areas, identified among those currently already qualified as suitable ex lege pursuant to Article 20, paragraph 8 of Legislative Decree no. 199/2021. Specifically, projects with ground-mounted modules may only be implemented:
· on sites where plants of the same source are already installed, limited to alterations, renovations, repowering or complete reconstruction of the plants already installed, provided that they do not increase the occupied area (Article 20, paragraph 8, lett. a));
· in quarries and mines that have been closed, not recovered or abandoned, or are in an environmentally degraded condition, or in those portions of quarries and mines that are not susceptible to further exploitation, including quarries that have already undergone environmental restoration and those with a completed cultivation plan that have not yet been restored, as well as landfills or landfill lots that have been closed or restored (Article 20, paragraph 8, lett. c));
· on sites and facilities at the disposal of the Italian State Railways Group companies and railway infrastructure management companies, as well as motorway concession companies (Article 20, paragraph 8, lett. c-bis));
· on sites and facilities at the disposal of the airport management companies within the airport grounds, including those within the perimeter of the airports of the minor islands (Article 20, paragraph 8, lett. c-bis.1));
· in the absence of landscape and cultural constraints: i) in areas inside industrial plants and facilities, as well as areas classified as agricultural enclosed within a perimeter whose points are no more than 500 metres from the same plant or facility (art. 20, paragraph 8, lett. c-ter) no. 2); and ii) in areas adjacent to the motorway network within a distance of no more than 300 metres (art. 20, paragraph 8, lett. c-ter) no. 3).
The above restrictions do not apply and therefore the installation of photovoltaic systems with ground-mounted modules is permitted in the case of:
· projects involving photovoltaic systems with ground-mounted modules aimed at establishing Renewable Energy Communities (RECs);
· projects implementing the other investment measures of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and the National Plan of Complementary Investments to the NRRP (PNC);
· projects necessary to achieve the objectives of the NRRP.
Paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the DL Agricoltura is without prejudice (and therefore it does not apply) to projects for which at least one of the administrative procedures, including environmental ones, necessary to obtain the permits for the construction and operation of the plants and related works has already commenced at the date of entry into force of the DL Agricoltura.
Finally, it is worth mentioning a further important innovation introduced by Article 5, paragraph 2-bis. Pursuant to this new provision, contracts for the concession of surface rights for the installation of RES production plants located on suitable areas, pursuant to Article 20, paragraph 1, letter a) of Legislative Decree no. 199/2021, shall not have a duration of less than six years, with a renewal for an additional six years, upon the expiration of which the parties may agree to further renew the contract under new conditions. Moreover, where the parties have agreed on a shorter duration, or have not agreed on duration at all, the duration of the contract shall be deemed to be six years.
The rules provided for in paragraph 2-bis are also applicable to contracts that have not yet expired on the date of entry into force Law No. 101/2024, subject to the right of withdrawal to be exercised within 60 days after that date.
