Italian ruling secures 30-day permit window for renewables, but size matters

An administrative court in Italy has ruled that local authorities cannot revoke simplified permits once a strict 30-day review period expires. The decision strengthens bankability for renewable projects utilizing Italy’s Simplified Authorization Procedure (PAS), though larger assets remain outside its scope.

The decision by the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) of Campania has confirmed that silence from a municipality equals approval for renewable energy projects filed as a PAS project.

In the ruling, the court established that once the 30-day regulatory deadline passes without objection, the local council cannot subsequently challenge the project for reasons it could have raised during the initial window.

Scope and capacity limits

The ruling, which was originally focused on a biogas situation, does apply more widely. The ruling interprets Article 6 of Legislative Decree 28/2011, the law that governs the PAS procedure, as applying to renewable projects.

Larger utility-scale projects must undergo the Single Authorization (Autorizzazione Unica) process, and this ruling does not affect this.

Speaking to pv magazine Italy, lawyers Rosaria Arancio and Giorgio Fraccastoro explained that the decision creates a firewall against bureaucratic interference.

“It is illegitimate for the Municipality… to contest the project and the authorization title thus formed for reasons, formal or substantial, [that could have been] detectable in the aforementioned 30 days,” the lawyers said.

More: pv magazine Italy’s interview, conducted by Sergio Matalucci.

Update: ESS News is clarifying the battery storage element for Italy, as battery storage projects may not be granted the same ruling results.