Aosta Valley: regional law 24/2025 defines suitable areas for photovoltaic and wind power

Aosta Valley has a new map of areas for renewable energy plants: regional law July 28, 2025, n. 24 identifies suitable, unsuitable, ordinary, and prohibited surfaces and areas for photovoltaic and wind power and rewrites the authorization regimes. The text, approved by the Regional Council and promulgated by President Testolin, is published in the Official Gazette, 3rd Special Series, n. 38 of October 3, 2026, with reference number 26R00269. The law is declared urgent and entered into force the day following its publication in the Official Bulletin of the Region.

The regulation implements art. 20, paragraph 4, of legislative decree n. 199/2021 and art. 3, paragraph 1, of the ministerial decree of June 21, 2024, and coordinates with legislative decree n. 190/2024 on administrative regimes. The identification of surfaces takes into account the objectives of table A of the aforementioned ministerial decree and the principles of its art. 7. The Region also recognizes the strategic importance of hydroelectric power, providing for a power contribution equal to at least the increase hypothesized in the PEAR VDA 2030.

Suitable areas: roofs, parking lots and sites to be redeveloped

The following are considered suitable for photovoltaics:

• the roofs of buildings and permanent building structures of any intended use;
• areas permanently intended for parking or service areas connected to the road network;
• sites with plants already installed that are subject to remodeling, upgrading or reconstruction, with a variation of the occupied area not exceeding 20 percent;
• remediation sites, closed quarries and mines, closed landfills and plants of the regional Integrated Water Service;
• sites of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, railway operators, motorway concessionaires and airport sites, subject to technical verification by ENAC;
• agricultural areas within 500 meters of industrial, artisanal and commercial zones, homogeneous zones of type D and sub-zones Bb, Cb and Ed.

For wind power, areas with plants of the same source subject to remodeling, upgrading or reconstruction are suitable, always within the limit of 20 percent of the occupied area.

Unsuitable areas and prohibitions

Unsuitable for ground-mounted photovoltaics and agrivoltaics: protected natural areas, Natura 2000 network (SAC, SPA, SIC), Important Bird Areas, homogeneous zones A, sub-zones Ea, Eb, Ec, Ee, Ef and Eg, non-buildable areas due to landslides, floods and avalanches, water state property, glaciers and rock glaciers, protected assets and areas of art. 40 of the Territorial Landscape Plan. Exceptions remain for plants under 5 kW, mobile plants and advanced agrivoltaics.

For buildings, those protected as monuments or cultural assets are unsuitable and, above 20 kW, those falling within non-buildable areas; similar limits apply to wind power. Ground-mounted photovoltaics are prohibited in the agricultural areas referred to in art. 20, paragraph 1-bis, of legislative decree no. 199/2021. In the event of overlap between suitable and unsuitable areas, the area is considered ordinary.

Authorizations, grants and governance

The Region applies the single authorization procedure of art. 9 of legislative decree no. 190/2024; for hydroelectric power, the Regional Government defines the procedure by its own resolution. In suitable areas, installation is permitted even in the absence of compliance with the intended use of the municipal General Regulatory Plans. These provisions do not apply to authorization procedures already underway.

Grants are provided to natural and legal persons for plants and storage systems, with revocation in the event of false declarations, discrepancies, or failure to cooperate with inspections. The law establishes the TTAI technical table, involving CELVA and with the support of the COA energia of Finaosta S.p.a., without additional costs to the regional budget.

Financial coverage

• Total cost for the 2025/2027 three-year period: 1,000,000 euros.
• 500,000 euros in 2026 and 500,000 euros in 2027, under Mission 17, Program 1.
• Annual reduction of 500,000 euros, for 2026 and 2027, of the expenditure provided for by art. 43, paragraph 3, of regional law no. 29/2024.

For businesses, administrations, and citizens, the law redraws the map of energy opportunities in Aosta Valley: it simplifies the process in suitable areas, strongly restricts ground-mounted installations, and subjects new projects to annual monitoring presented to the council commissions.

Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, 3rd Special Series – Regions, no. 38 of October 3, 2026; regional law July 28, 2025, no. 24 (26R00269).