Planning land-use change for biomass-fuelled energy-production plants: spatial analyses applied to the case of Sardinia, Italy

Land-use change in Sardinia is a delicate problem. On the one hand, the Regional Landscape Plan, the main landscape-planning tool adopted on the island, pays great attention to landscape protection, using strict constraints and directives for land management. On the other hand, the Regional Energy Plan aims at the diversification of energy sources and, in particular, of renewable energy sources (RES). Actions directed to the development of RES-based energy production may lead to conflicts between the two plans, especially when the associated land-use changes affect landscapes. The aim of this study is to present a decision-support method for the development of a biomass supply chain that does not compromise landscape values in Sardinia