In Sardinia, the energy gap can become an advantage

Sardinia has historically suffered from serious infrastructure deficits that have hampered its development: it is the only Italian region without motorways, with a non-electrified railway network that is largely narrow-gauge, and it is also the only region not connected to the national natural gas network.

The absence of natural gas presents the region with a real opportunity to turn its infrastructure deficit into an advantage, by implementing a direct transition to renewables which, it should be remembered, is driven by the need to mitigate climate change, but has been made inevitable by technological developments in the energy sector, which now make renewable sources the least expensive and least subject to geopolitical tensions. And this is where the Gordian knot that has tightened around Sardinia arises; it is not an isolated case, but the place where the moment of decision has arrived first.

Production from fossil fuels is concentrated both geographically and economically, whilst that from renewables is, by definition, distributed. The transition therefore requires profound social and economic transformations and involves local communities, businesses and workers. At national level, attempts have been made to accelerate the process through the centralisation of procedures and so-called simplification, whilst there has been a failure to improve administrative efficiency and update now obsolete regulations.

Rather than speeding up the process, this approach has fuelled the perception that decisions are being imposed from above. This concern, exploited by those with a vested interest in slowing down the transition, has encouraged the spread of the misleading equation between renewable energy and speculation, as if the companies proposing to build these plants were not carrying out the same legitimate economic activity as so many others, and as if wind and solar power plants were not infrastructure that transforms the landscape just as much as the bridges and viaducts that have always dotted our landscape.

The results? Regional Law 20/2025 declared almost 99 per cent of Sardinia’s territory unsuitable, and made the construction of industrial-scale plants virtually impossible, to the extent that, according to Terna data, Sardinia is now the region furthest from meeting its burden-sharing targets. At the same time, regional politicians across the political spectrum are calling for the island to be converted to natural gas – a choice that is harmful to the environment, costly (generating energy from gas currently costs around three times as much as from renewables), and which will prevent Sardinian industries from being competitive. The so-called ‘virtual methane pipeline’ will, once fully operational, cost Italians €285 million a year in their energy bills, representing a 9.6 per cent increase in transmission charges. Furthermore, there are calls across the political spectrum for the conversion to gas of one of the two coal-fired power stations still in operation – the Fiume Santo plant – despite Terna deeming this unnecessary.

Yet the data is clear: the future lies in the wind and sun, which the region has in abundance. A study by the Politecnico di Milano and the Universities of Cagliari and Padua indicates that a decisive transition to renewables could reduce energy costs by 40 per cent. Svimez estimates that renewable energy projects currently at an advanced stage of authorisation alone would create nearly 13,000 permanent jobs: a bulwark against depopulation and the emigration of young people.

For the energy transition to deliver its benefits across the country, it must bring about a positive transformation of the landscape, guided by sound planning that integrates energy, the environment and socio-economic development. We need to select the best projects, empower the communities hosting them, and promote an industrial policy based on supply chains through the creation of green clusters where companies can achieve the critical mass needed to be competitive. The challenge is immense and involves changes that will have a profound impact on society. There is only one way to overcome it: by working together.