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Green energy and black economy: mafia investments in the wind power sector in Italy

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Abstract

In recent years, the EU has supported actions to develop the green economy. Among these, incentives to sustain the growth of the wind power (WP) sector were welcomed as strategic for promoting environmental sustainability. This paper argues that the enthusiasm in supporting the green economy, without a preliminary assessment for crime opportunities, could end up fueling the black one. In particular, looking at the Italian case, the intention to facilitate wind farm construction provided remarkable (economic and procedural) incentives but neglected the issue of crime infiltration in the legitimate economy. Consequently, investments in wind farms also became a very lucrative business for organized crime (OC) groups. Through an analysis of the WP sector in Italy, this paper aims to show that, in territories characterized by a significant presence and control of OC groups, regulation could have an adverse effect providing opportunities for OC infiltrations in the legitimate economy. In particular this paper discusses whether investments in the WP sector in Italy are more likely in those regions with higher levels of OC presence and analyzes the role played by OC groups in cases of criminal infiltrations in the WP sector.

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Notes

  1. COM(97)599.

  2. Directive 2001/77/EC.

  3. Directive 2009/28/EC.

  4. National overall targets for the share of energy from renewable sources in 2020 vary across EU MSs according to the 2005 share. For example, Italy’s 2020 target is 17 %. Other EU MSs’ targets: Germany 18 %, France 23 %, Spain 20 %, UK 15, Sweden 49 % [67, p. 11].

  5. Tradable Green Certificates (TGCs) are a market-based instrument to regulate the development of renewable energy [68].

  6. In 2009 the lost wind energy production was 393 GWh, equal to € 12 millions [69, p. 43].

  7. Last update: Septermber 2012.

  8. See www.espon.eu/main/Menu_Projects/Menu_AppliedResearch/rerisk.html.

  9. Data can be downloaded at www.rerisk.eu.

  10. Provincia Autonoma Trento and Provincia Autonoma Bolzano-Bozen are generally identified as two different NUTS 2 regions. In the light of this paper Trentino Alto Adige is considered as a single region, resulting from the average between the two values of Provincia Autonoma Trento and Provincia Autonoma Bolzano-Bozen.

  11. Both of the measures calculated are used as dependent variables in the analysis.

  12. The cumulative WP plant power installed takes into account also those WP farms which have been dismantled. These are included because the aim of the paper is to focus on the decision to install a WP rather on the effective production of electricity from wind power. However dismantled wind farms account only for 40 MW, equivalent to the 0,5 % of the total installed capacity.

  13. As explained above, in this paper Trentino Alto Adige is considered as a single region resulting from the union of NUTS 2 areas Provincia Autonoma di Trento and Provincia Autonoma of Bolzano-Bozen.

  14. 76th considering the entire set including also Iceland, Liechtestein, Norway and Switzerland.

  15. Sixteen out of 20 Italian regions are included in the 50 % of EU regions with the lowest wind power potential; only four rank in the third quartile (Apulia, Sicily, Tuscany, Sardinia), while no Italian region is in the 25 % with the highest values.

  16. These figures include also dismantled WP plants (nearly 40 MW, equivalent to the 0,5 % of the total installed capacity).

  17. Italian law states that coastal areas (up to 300 m away from the shore (including cliffs)), mountains (1600 m above sea level in the Alps and 1200 m above sea level in the Apennines and on islands) and all national and regional natural parks and reserves (including the protective areas surrounding them) all have protected status (D.L. 42/2004, art. 142, c. a, d and f). Since 1991, Regions should list these areas in a document stating also which types of construction are allowed. In effect, none of the Southern regions with high levels of mafia infiltration (Apulia, Calabria, Campania and Sicily, see Fig. 4) had issued the “guidelines for environmental and energy planning” (PEAR) before 2005, and Campania still does not have a regional plan.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Ms. Alessia Remmerswaal for the contribution provided during her MA Thesis.

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  1. Università Cattolica di Milano – Transcrime, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Caneppele, Michele Riccardi & Priscilla Standridge

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  1. Stefano Caneppele
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Correspondence to Stefano Caneppele.

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Caneppele, S., Riccardi, M. & Standridge, P. Green energy and black economy: mafia investments in the wind power sector in Italy. Crime Law Soc Change 59, 319–339 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-013-9418-1

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