Biodiversity-Proof Energy Communities in the Urban Planning of Italian Inner Municipalities

Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are considered a promising instrument for the achievement of carbon neutral settlements and a possible area-based strategy to counter the depopulation of inland areas. The connection with local energy systems from renewable sources poses the need for their optimal location to respect the territorial heritage, which is particularly rich in inner areas. This work focuses on the protection of biodiversity, an aspect scarcely investigated in the scientific literature on the topic of RECs in urban planning. To this end, a fast method is proposed to build the Map of Ecological Connectivity on an urban scale, starting from the data available from the early stages of the planning process. The model is applied to the municipal territory of Roccabascerana, belonging to the inner areas of Campania Region (Italy), in the context of studies and research for the formation of the Municipal Urban Plan. The results achieved allowed the recognition of potential flow corridors in areas with higher connectivity, supporting the spatial identification of areas unsuitable for the RES plants localization.