by Silvia Musso
Photovoltaic yes or no? The question is not to be in favor or against the renewable solar energy, the question is to avoid that the diffusion of a useless and necessary alternative source of energy produces environmentally harmful externalities. This is the message that seems to come out from the institutional communication and regional or municipal deliberations that have characterized the last months of 2010.
During the last year everywhere in Italy photoltaic plants have started ti grow up on fertile fields: from hills of Piedmont, to Padana Valley, where for example, the small municipality of Monticelli d’Ongina from garlic capital, excellent local product, is becoming the capital of photovoltaic, thanks to a structure made of 11,530 solar panles, 2 square meters wide each; from Puglia region, leader Italian region of photovoltaic in Italy, but contemporary of the photovoltaic ground speculations that takes up space to agricolture, to the Province of Grosseto that last june che liberalized 90% of the agricultural areas for photovoltaic ground installation.
In response to that has all the appearance of speculation that goes to indiscriminate damage to an economic sector, agriculture, already in crisis, many voices raised and communication campaigns to counteract this trend and propose alternative solutions developed.
We remind the project realized by the Italian ONG Legambiente together with AzzeroCO2, called “Eternit Free”, aimed to convert the asbestos roofs in solar panels, that had lot of success inmany Italian provinces, or “SI' al fotovoltaico, ma non su terreni liberi. Stop al Consumo di Territorio (Yes to photovoltaic, but non on free fields. Stop to land consumption), the campaign inside the campaign of the Movimento Stop al Consumo di Territorio that intend to regulate permits for new installations of solar panels on the ground.
In just over a year the movement has drawn attention of citizens and public administrations on this thorny subject through interesting ways to raise awareness and direct involvement of local administrators. Indeed campaign introduction’s letters were sent to the mayors to avoid misunderstandings and a draft resolution to require the regulation of phovoltaic systems on the ground, excluding those designed strictly for agricultural land free and to recommend to any company proposing to seek production sites in areas of destination, on surfaces covered with existing or, alternatively, within the perimeter of inhabited sites.
These requests we welcome by municipalities such as Rivalta di Torino, Carignano, Racconigi (Turin Province) and Alba and Savigliano in Cuneo Province (North Italy).
Some regions have been engaged in public communications to protect agricultural land. This is the case of the Piedmont Region where the junta, by resolution entered into force last December, has identified areas and sites not suitable for the installation of ground photovoltaic systems.
Also Puglia Region (South Italy) has recently moved in this direction. In December, it has signed agreements with companies Enel.si and Beghelli to encourage the installation of photovoltaic systems on the roofs of citizens and businesses.
Certainly the issue of renewable energy is far from being resolved and who moves against the ground photovoltaic system is accused of being against technological innovation and economic development. To answer these criticisms we present an innovative project created by AzzeroCO2 and Exalto with the Legambiente collaboration, that opens new horizons both economically and environmentally. This is the 5-megawatt solar park that will be built in Cutrofiano (province of Lecce, Puglia). On farm land of 26 hectares will be installed 700 concentrated panels that have a higher yield in terms of energy production than the traditional photovoltaic. The project is a first experiment in Italy, will be the solution to bring together the panels with agriculture. On the website AzzeroCO2 we read that the project proposes an innovative solution to the problem of combining the production of photovoltaic systems on the ground with soil conservation and local agriculture. The surface of the concentrated system is in fact equipped with white panels that determine the refraction of sunlight on the ground, encouraging the growth of crops sown in the soil below. The concentration of the panels on the ground, finally, was designed so as not to allow an intensive exploitation of the area, but to safeguard and promote the use of agricultural land.
This new technology will be the key to find a compromise between agriculture, landscape and energy?
No comments:
Post a Comment