Trade-off between photovoltaic systems installation and agricultural practices on arable lands: An environmental and socio-economic impact analysis for Italy

The paper introduces and discusses an open-source spatial-based model (called r.green.solar) able to quantify the energy production from solar photovoltaic (PV) ground-mounted panels. Socio-economic and environmental impacts can be evaluated by the model. The model starts from the theoretical quantity of solar PV potential energy and estimates a reduction of total amount of energy based on legal, technical, recommended and economic constraints. Model outputs were used for a trade-off analysis between energy production and traditional crops for food/feed cultivation on not irrigated arable land. The model was tested at regional level for a Mediterranean context (Italy). The results confirm that the economic profitability of PV systems follows a north-south gradient, but the main impacts are related to local peculiarities – such as the disposal of not irrigated arable land and the presence of constraints, in particular the landscape maintenance, the morphological variables and the specialization index – and crop yields. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rightsreserved

Exploring Residents’ Willingness to Pay for Renewable Energy Supply: Evidences from an Italian Case Study

The present study offers a contingent valuation application to explore residents ́ willingness to pay for renewable energy, in a case study in the Italian Alps. Data originated from onsite personal interviews and were analyzed with a Tobit model. Results show that respondents are willing to pay, on average, 5.1€ per month for a 100% of renewable energy supply, corresponding approximately to a 13% increase in the energy bill. Among the factors positively affecting the answers, the personal knowledge about renewable energy plays a key role in predicting WTP, as well as income and the personal perception of future possible development of hydropower plants. On the other hand, age and number of household components negatively affect WTP

The management model of the Natura 2000 network in Puglia: opinions and expectations of stakeholders

The implementation of integrated approach in the management of sites of the Natura 2000 network presupposes the stakeholders’ involvement to efficiently combine the nature conservation at the sites with the main human activities (tourism-recreational, agricultural and forestry activities). The aim of this study is to investigate the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the current management model of the Natura 2000 network in the Puglia region through the stakeholders’ opinions and point of views. To this end, a semi-structured questionnaire was face-to-face administered to 27 stakeholders (61.4% of identified stakeholders). From a methodological point of view, a SWOT-AHP analysis was implemented to identify a ranking of individual strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the management of the Natura 2000 network in Puglia. In addition, a social network analysis was developed to understand the efficiency of current network of relationships in the management of Natura 2000 network and the potential for improvement in a future network. The results show the need to increase the level of inclusiveness in decision-making processes related to the management of the Natura 2000 network. Furthermore, the results of this study show the scarcity of human and financial resources available to managers as a key factor on which to intervene (weakness point). Finally, particular attention should be paid to the main threat underlined by the interviewees: the loss and fragmentation of habitats due to anthropic causes and abiotic factors