Energy Transition and Spatial Transformation: Looking for a Suitable Trade-Off

The entry of large amounts of funding and the ongoing energy crisis are drivers of large-scale land transformations for which no monitoring plan was framed. Several studies showed that already in the past the uncontrolled development of infrastructure for energy production from renewable sources led to significant environmental impacts, in some cases largely motivated by economic speculation. This paper analyzes the emblematic case study of the Basilicata Region where, since 2006, the number of wind turbines multiplied in the absence of both a monitoring system and a robust planning and programming framework. The paper proposes a spatially explicit methodology to measure the degree of sustainability of land transformations occurred, according to two approaches: ecosystem services, through the analysis of the carbon footprint related to the installation and operation of energy plants; spatial fragmentation, through a density index. The aim is to provide useful indications for addressing investments aimed at repowering existing wind farms in order to improve the overall environmental balance by increasing renewable energy production and minimizing negative environmental effects.