The “Todde model” against renewables and against the Constitution

The Campo Largo coalition states that, in general, its programme is the Constitution and, specifically, as far as energy is concerned, it is to ‘step up the pace on renewables’. In practice, the opposite is happening, at least if one looks at Sardinia, which served as the centre-left’s political testing ground when, in February 2024, the coalition led by Alessandra Todde of the M5S managed to defeat the right. On the island, the approach is to pass unconstitutional laws to block renewables. Elly Schlein, in yesterday’s interview with Il Foglio, referring to the Sardinian case, admitted: “We, too, have problems with the acceptability of our energy policies.” 

“More could have been done,” the PD secretary told Il Foglio, “but from that experience we can try to adopt an approach that might work.” In short, Schlein is saying, diplomatically, that Sardinia remains a model when it comes to renewables – but a model of what not to do. After all, the ‘Todde model’ now embodies the political contradiction of a coalition which, at national level, attacks the Meloni government by accusing it of being an enemy of the energy transition, whilst at regional level it clashes with the Meloni government to install as few renewables as possible.

The latest chapter in this political and legal battle is the ruling handed down yesterday by the Constitutional Court, following an appeal by the Prime Minister, which declared the Sardinian regional government’s suspension of authorisations for renewable energy plants in unsuitable areas to be unlawful. This is the third ruling of unconstitutionality in two years for the Todde administration. Last year, the Constitutional Court had already struck down (ruling 28/2025) the moratorium by which Sardinia had suspended all authorisations pending the introduction of a new law. It subsequently also struck down (ruling 184/2025) certain parts of the new Regional Law No. 20, under which Sardinia had imposed a blanket ban on the installation of renewable energy plants in unsuitable areas. This brings us to yesterday’s ruling, No. 144/2026, in which the Constitutional Court declared the illegality of a new, automatic and blanket moratorium on all pending authorisations pending the adoption of a regulation that was due to be adopted within ninety days and which, in any case, the region never approved.

It would appear to be a serious defeat. Yet it is not. The Todde administration lost its case at the Constitutional Court, but it has still won. In the sense that, through regional legislative obstructionism, it has managed to achieve its political objective. Over the last two years, around 500 MW of renewable capacity has come online in Sardinia. This is a very small amount, and largely consists of projects initiated before the Todde administration took office. Approvals granted during the ‘progressive’ administration account for less than half of this total: 230 MW, of which 120 MW was for the repowering of an existing wind farm. Just two months ago, Todde attended a Council of Ministers meeting to express the region’s negative opinion on 30 wind farm and agrivoltaic projects, which the government subsequently authorised. In the end, Sardinia reached an agreement with Palazzo Chigi, declaring its “non-opposition” to three projects whilst maintaining its opposition to the other 27.

It is therefore no coincidence that, during the two years of the Todde administration, Sardinia has achieved a dubious record: according to the latest data from Terna for June, it is the region furthest behind the targets set out in the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (-548 MW), whilst the country as a whole is ahead (+886 MW). And the situation is obviously set to worsen: on the one hand, the growth rate of installed renewable capacity is expected to increase to keep pace with the Pniec target; on the other hand, the regional law – which has survived three rulings of unconstitutionality by the Constitutional Court – remains the most restrictive in the country, as it excludes 99 per cent of Sardinian territory from renewable energy projects and, in essence, prohibits the construction of industrial-scale plants.

Consequently, the three rulings by the Constitutional Court are not mere hiccups, but obstacles deliberately placed by Sardinia along the path towards national and European decarbonisation targets. It is not the three laws, but the entire energy policy of the ‘Todde model’ that is at odds with renewables and with the Constitution.