PV developed in suitable areas. Illegality of the PAS refusal: cumulative landscape impact and prevalence of national legislation over territorial restrictions

With its recent judgment no. 190 of June 21, 2025, the Molise Regional Administrative Court expressed some principles of considerable interest in the delicate balance between national and local legislation in the context of the development of renewable energy projects.

Particularly, with this ruling, the Regional Administrative Court clarified that the primary legislation – represented, in this case, by Article 20 of Legislative Decree 199/2021 on suitable areas – as it comes from a legislative source, makes any landscape restrictions regulated by territorial plans and NTA requirements “yielding”.

As a result, it was established that, where the relevant project falls within an area suitable ex lege, the PAS cannot be denied on the basis of pre-existing territorial constraints without taking into account the national legislation.

In the case at stake, the Municipality of Larino had disregarded the national legislative context (in particular, Article 20, paragraph 8, c-ter, nos. 1 and 2) by considering a photovoltaic project with a capacity of approximately 5 MW incompatible with the Territorial Landscape Plan (denying the relevant PAS) despite the fact that it fell within a suitable area.

In this regard, the Molise Regional Administrative Court pointed out that the regional and municipal regulations referred to in the contested measures must be considered superseded by both the state regulations on suitable areas and the regional regulations (i.e., Regional Council Decree No. 158/2023, which adapted the location criteria to national provisions).

It was therefore reiterated that regional or local provisions imposing restrictions or requirements on the installation of RES plants may remain valid, pending the issuance of implementing decrees pursuant to Article 20 of Legislative Decree 199/2021, exclusively for those parts that do not conflict with national legislation (on this point, see also the note from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, ref. no. 124474 of July 28, 2023, provided in response to a request for clarification on a similar case).

The administrative judges also focused on two further aspects of non-negligible importance in the context of the development of renewable projects, emphasizing that:

• in the context of authorization processes, local authorities cannot simply accept the negative opinions of the Superintendency uncritically, especially if the projects fall within a suitable area and, therefore, pursuant to Article 22 of Legislative Decree 199/2021, the latter are ‘non-binding’;

• a reasonable assessment of the ‘cumulative effect’ on the landscape can only take into account, for the purposes of assessing the real perceived impact of a photovoltaic project, neighboring plants that are already existing and/or approved, and not those still in the authorization phase.

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