ROME — Italy’s rightwing government on Monday banned the installation of ground-based solar panels on agricultural land, just days after Rome committed to triple installed renewable energy capacity by 2030.
“We put an end to the wild installation of ground-mounted photovoltaic panels,” Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida said at a press conference following the cabinet meeting.
The ban covers photovoltaic systems placed on the ground in areas classified as agricultural, but does not refer to agrivoltaic projects, where solar panels are installed above fields of crops, Lollobrigida said.
Projects benefitting from EU funds, such as energy communities, are exempt.
Coordinamento Free, an umbrella group for renewable energy businesses and environmental associations, warned earlier on Monday that such a ban would “block many photovoltaic projects”.
“As a result, Italy will fail to meet the 2030 decarbonization…
