The assessment of aesthetic and perceptual aspects within environmental impact assessment of renewable energy projects in Italy
- Department of Architecture and Design (DiAP), Sapienza University of Rome, Via Gramsci 53, 00197 Rome (Italy)
- Department of Agriculture, Forests, Nature and Energy (D.A.F.N.E.), Tuscia University, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo (Italy)
The main aim of this paper is to explore how perceptual and aesthetic impact analyses are considered in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), with specific reference to Italian renewable energy projects. To investigate this topic, the paper starts by establishing which factors are linked with perceptual and aesthetic impacts and why it is important to analyze these aspects, which are also related to legislative provisions and procedures in Europe and in Italy. In particular the paper refers to renewable energy projects because environmental policies are encouraging more and more investment in this kind of primary resource. The growing interest in this type of energy is leading to the realization of projects which change the governance of territories, with inevitable effects on the landscape from the aesthetic and perceptual points of view. Legislative references to EIA, including the latest directive regarding this topic show the importance of integrating the assessment of environmental and perceptual impacts, thus there is a need to improve EIA methodological approaches to this purpose. This paper proposes a profile of aesthetic and perceptual impact analysis in EIA for renewable energy projects in Italy, and concludes with recommendations as to how this kind of analysis could be improved. - Highlights: • We analyze 29 EIA Reports of Italian renewable energy projects. • We examine esthetic and perceptual aspects present in Italian EIA reports. • We identified inconsistency in use of methods for esthetic and perceptual aspects. • Local populations are rarely included as stakeholders in EIAs. • A shared understanding of perceptual and esthetic issues in EIA proceedings is required.
- OSTI ID:
- 22589228
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Vol. 57; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2015 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0195-9255
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Large-scale renewable energy project barriers: Environmental impact assessment streamlining efforts in Japan and the EU
The quality of Portuguese Environmental Impact Studies: The case of small hydropower projects