Italy's government has rejected 10 solar and agrivoltaic projects with a combined capacity of about 468 MW, ruling that the protection of the landscape and cultural heritage outweighs the gain in renewable energy production.
At the same meeting on 28 October, the Council of Ministers approved five projects in Puglia totalling 272 MW, pv magazine reported. The government rejected more capacity than it approved.
Landscape before power
The Council of Ministers issued negative environmental compatibility opinions for the 10 projects. The government said it had "considered the protection of the landscape and cultural heritage to prevail over the increase in energy production" from renewable sources.
The rejected projects are spread over four regions. Lazio accounts for five of them, with about 240 MW, Puglia for three with about 199 MW, Basilicata for one of 20 MW, and Molise for one of 10.13 MW.
The rejected plants
The largest rejected project is the 113 MW Campo Agrosolare Valle agrivoltaic plant in Ascoli Satriano, Puglia, developed by Solar Italy XV.
In Lazio, the government turned down the 77.69 MW Querciolare solar plant in Montalto di Castro by Alcione Rinnovabili, the 57 MW EG Gemma plant in Proceno, a 45 MW agrivoltaic plant in Viterbo and Vitorchiano by CCEN Viterbo, the 30.53 MW GreenHill – Progetto Valentano agrivoltaic plant by ICA NOU, and the 29.36 MW Solar Blooms agrivoltaic plant in Civita Castellana by Pacifico Pirite, a subsidiary of Germany's Pacifico Energy Partners.
The other rejections in Puglia were the 44.34 MW Celone 03 agrivoltaic plant near Foggia by Green Genius Italy Utility 13 and the 41.28 MW Pascarella agrivoltaic plant in Gravina in Puglia by Ambra Solare 12. A 20 MW agrivoltaic plant by ANT Solar in Genzano di Lucania, Basilicata, and the 10.13 MW Colle Carbone plant in Larino, Molise, were also rejected.
Five approvals in Puglia
All five approved projects are agrivoltaic plants in Puglia. The largest is a 76.77 MW plant by Solar Capital 1 in Foggia and Lucera. The others are the 63.62 MW Ordona plant by X-Elio Italia 4, the 53.84 MW CSPV Manfredonia plant by Blue Stone Renewable VI, the 45.6 MW Aragonite plant by Pacifico Aragonite and the 32 MW La Feudale plant by Luminora La Feudale.
The wider permitting picture
The rejections came in a month when Italy's permitting system still delivered a large volume of approvals. According to pv magazine Italia, 19 positive environmental impact opinions for about 800 MW of solar were published by the environment ministry (MASE) and the Council of Ministers in October, up from 14 positive opinions for 662 MW in September.
What it means for European developers
Italy's decision shows that landscape and cultural heritage concerns can stop solar projects at the final political stage, in the Council of Ministers. Agrivoltaic designs, which are meant to combine farming and solar, were not spared: most of the rejected projects were agrivoltaic. For developers, site selection is becoming as important as grid access, and Lazio, where five of the ten rejected projects were located, stands out as a region where refusals were concentrated. At the same time, approvals of around 800 MW in October show that well-sited projects continue to move forward.
Source: pv magazine, 30 October 2026; pv magazine Italia, 30 October 2026
