Tuscany is considering blocking an agrivoltaic plant linked to Israel

Is Tuscany boycotting Israel? Perhaps. “We are looking into the matter,” Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscany region, told Il Foglio regarding the latest furore surrounding the construction of an agrivoltaic plant due to be built in the hamlet of Ribolla, in the province of Grosseto. Alongside the usual accusations of “gutting” the countryside, allegations have also emerged in recent days that the project is aiding Israeli colonialism in the Gaza Strip.

In brief: at the end of May, the Regional Authority issued a positive environmental impact assessment (VIA) for the 20-megawatt power station project promoted by Spv Energy 3 Srl. However, as reported today by Il Fatto Quotidiano, it has emerged that the company (based in Milan and with zero employees) is reportedly a subsidiary of Shikun & Binui, an Israeli group specialising in construction, renewable energy and property. Furthermore, according to Who Profits, a research group active in studying the ‘economy of the Israeli occupation’, the company plays a significant role in the construction and expansion of settlements and occupation infrastructure in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. ‘The company has also been involved in the construction of the barrier surrounding the besieged Gaza Strip,’ reads one of their reports. Pro-Palestinian activists in Tuscany are up in arms, and the ‘Diritti in Palestina’ collective has decided to send a letter to the mayor of the municipality, Francesco Limatola, and to the president of the region, Eugenio Giani. “I receive three hundred a day; this one hasn’t been brought to my attention yet,” explains Giani, who has, however, learnt of the matter from quite different sources. Regional councillors and various local committees are clamouring for the situation to be taken in hand and for the whole project to be halted. And, according to what Il Foglio has learnt from sources close to the regional council, that seems to be precisely the direction things are heading.

This would, of course, go through the bureaucratic channels. In early September, a package of three bills designed specifically to speed up the construction of solar power plants will be tabled before the regional council. “These regulations will enable us to identify sites in more than 150 Tuscan municipalities for the construction of these plants,” explains Giani. However, the idea currently being discussed at Palazzo Guadagni dell’Opera is to include, as an addendum to this package, a specific clause granting the regional executive general discretionary power to express an opinion on the plants, taking into account their relationship with the local area. The consequence of this is that, in addition to the technical assessment, there may also be a discretionary evaluation of whether the plant is in keeping with the harmony of the local area. This would be a way of giving the committees more leeway and allowing the region to exercise discretion from an ‘institutional-political’ perspective in assessing whether a plant should be approved or not. This clause, formally designed to ‘ensure a balance within the local area’, would therefore make it possible to put the brakes on the Ribolla plant (the construction of which has not yet been fully authorised), as well as on numerous other projects. This is a highly likely scenario, given that agrivoltaics is one of the most thriving sectors of the Jerusalem-based industry, as also demonstrated by the involvement of another Israeli company, Econergy, in the construction of a 47 MW agrivoltaic plant in Cavaglià, in the Biella area. This project has also been contested by green activists, in this case too, due to alleged involvement in the war in the Middle East.

According to Terna data (up to date as of May 2026), Tuscany is the third region with the greatest delays in meeting its renewable energy targets, amounting to a shortfall of 225 MW of installed capacity. Giani says he wants to speed up the construction of new plants, in contrast to what is happening in two other progressive regions such as Umbria and Sardinia. “I take a very pragmatic and down-to-earth approach. And even today, Tuscany already meets 51 per cent of its energy consumption with renewable sources,” he says. “We must free Italy from its excessive dependence on fossil fuels and move towards energy sources that are compatible with the environment.” On the other hand, however, he is keen to point out: “So far, I too have issued more negative than positive opinions on the various projects proposed by private developers – those that alter the character of areas with the unique qualities and beauty that distinguish Tuscany.” The approval of a clause granting greater “institutional-political” discretion could enable the governor to manage relations more effectively with NIMBY committees and various environmental groups. Including proPal.