“Stop the speculative assault on wind energy”:Sardinia returns to the streets

Just a week away from latest protests, Sardinian citizens returned to the streets to reiterate their no to massive construction of wind farms on its territory.In fact, several events took place over the weekend in southern Sardinia, in particular near the Guspini, Sanluri and Quartu wind farms and in Oristano.As repeatedly specified by citizens at each location of the protests, these are not aimed at hindering the transition towards the use of more sustainable energy sources, but speculation that revolves around it, which is to the detriment of the Sardinian population and the environmental and landscape heritage of the island.

«The energy transition it must serve, not enslave»:this is the motto with which the Su Entu Nostu Committee took part in the mobilizations against wind speculation, which took place throughout the weekend in Sardinia.«The energy transition must be ecological and just.We want to make our contribution to the defense of the planet but we want to do it in an equal position, there are no citizens and territories of a lower category."Various committees and local organizations participated in meetings, sit-ins and marches, as well as trade unions such as COBAS and USB.As explained by Su Entu Nostu, committees and citizens do not intend to completely deny the possibility of building wind farms, but «they demand a role in the field of planning which now appears for what it is, i.e. yet another colonial abuse».

Although Sardinia is a region that can boast one of the largest uses of renewable sources at a national level, the number of concessions is rapidly growing, far exceeding the island's needs and affecting its natural heritage.I am 809 connection requests of renewable energy production plants to the national grid presented in recent years.If approved, these would produce 57.67 gigawatts of power, covering all quadrants of the island, including coastal areas.According to what was reported by the Agricultural Studies Center, in this way over 200 thousand hectares of territory would risk being compromised - the installation of wind turbines involves the concreting of large parts of territory, just to give an example.Another element to take into consideration is that the race for the wind power business has also led to the sale of large parts of territory to foreign companies.It happened at the end of April, when Chint, the largest photovoltaic panel factory in the People's Republic of China, acquired Enersid from the Spanish company the most important solar project ever conceived at European level, appropriating over a thousand hectares of land in northern Sardinia.A few days later, the President of the Region Alessandra Todde approved a bill that introduces a ban on the construction of new electricity production and storage plants from renewable sources that directly cause new land occupation for 18 months.However, for the committees the provision is not sufficient.The projects that have been presented and which, in part, have already obtained approval, predict in fact installations of wind farms in areas of high landscape, archaeological and cultural value, as well as requiring the destruction of the territory already simply at their transit.For allow the passage of the vehicles carrying the shovels (which can exceed 18 meters in height), in fact, flower beds were leveled and several hundred trees felled, then "disintegrated" on the spot.

Activists intend to fight «until the energy transition occurs community-friendly, the speculators will not go away and the State will no longer impose itself on the choices of the Sardinian population."Their position, they have reiterated several times, is not to prevent the transition to wind power and renewable energy sources, but to fight against wild speculation, for a transition process that takes place with the collaboration of citizens and with respect for a territory whose natural heritage is increasingly damaged by human activity.

[by Valeria Casolaro]