Puglia regional council approves renewable energy zones with agricultural protections

The Puglia Regional Council in Italy approved a regional law to identify specific areas for renewable energy installations.

The council passed the measure on November 10 with 32 votes in favor and three abstentions. This law implements Article 11-bis of Legislative Decree No. 190 of November 25, 2024, which prevents regional governments from imposing general prohibitions or extra limits beyond state regulations.

The new regulations expand eligible areas for renewable energy projects to include storage systems, electrolyzers, and land adjacent to high-voltage transformation cabins within 300 meters. The law also defines specific buffer zones for water infrastructure and creates a new category for agrivoltaic and biomass plants serving agricultural businesses. However, the council removed provisions that would have allowed floating solar plants in quarries, water basins, and irrigation tanks.

To protect the local agricultural heritage, the law establishes strict rules for land use. It considers the presence of olive trees, organic crops, or high-quality food products (such as those with Dop or Igp certifications) as evidence of significant negative impacts on agriculture. In such cases, the law imposes a five-year protection period after a crop is replaced or production ceases. For any solar installations in eligible agricultural areas, the law requires the use of advanced agrivoltaic configurations.

The regional government also capped the additional area available for renewable energy plants at 0.8 percent of the regional Utilized Agricultural Surface (Sau). A regional database will monitor this limit to ensure compliance. The law prioritizes requests for upgrading or rebuilding existing plants and those built on the roofs of stables and agricultural warehouses.