Environmentalists who oppose the construction of a new wind farm in the San Vito area can, at least for now, breathe a sigh of relief. In fact, the Region’s decision to do so remains standing cancel the authorization to the company “Parco Eolico di San Vito srl” for the installation of 14 wind turbines over 100 meters high, a project whose bureaucratic process has been going on, between bureaucratic delays and protests from the territories, for about 15 years. The Regional Administrative Court of Catanzaro, following the hearing held on 11 December, issued an order with which it rejected the precautionary request with which the company had requested the annulment, subject to acceptance of the suspension, of the decree with which last October 3, the general manager of the Department of economic development and cultural attractions, energy infrastructure sector, renewable and non-renewable sources, of the Calabria Region ordered the revocation of the single authorization relating, precisely, to the construction of the plant with a concession power of 50 mW and the consequent “lapse of the effects of all measures” following the Services Conference of 11 March 2019.
The Regional Administrative Court, chaired by Giancarlo Pennetti, «in light of a summary assessment specific to this phase and without prejudice to any in-depth analysis reserved for the merits», deemed that the precautionary request made by the “Parco Eolico di San Vito srl” is «without the required periculum in mora» because it did not recognize «evidence of a serious and irreparable damage attributable to its subjective position, given that the party (the company, ed.) refers exclusively to the needs of protecting the public interest in the production of energy compatible with the protection of the environment and needs of achieving the European quantitative objectives”. This public interest, in other words, as well as representing a “completely hypothetical and future” prejudice according to the TAR, “does not concern “the appellant”” according to the provisions of the Administrative Trial Code “nor a differentiated legal situation of which he is the bearer.”
In addition to the Region defended by the lawyer Massimiliano Manna, the Lipu (Italian League for the Protection of Birds) also appeared in court with an ad opposition speech written by the lawyer Angelo Calzone. With respect to the fact that, according to the company which had requested the suspension for this reason, the community would be deprived of an intervention of public utility, which cannot be deferred and urgent, eliminating the positive environmental impact induced by the project, Lipu found that what is feared it is not, according to environmentalists, “a concrete and imminent damage nor easily measurable (talking about eliminating the positive environmental impact of the plant in a forest is excessive to say the least)”.
