Floating PV on irrigation basins in Italy: Towards an EU framework Part I – legal qualification, agricultural connection and proprietary framework

Abstract

This first part examines floating photovoltaic (FPV) installations on agricultural irrigation reservoirs from the standpoint of Italian agrarian, civil, and water law. Its central aim is to determine whether, and under what conditions, FPV may remain legally embedded in the agricultural organisation of the holding rather than constituting an autonomous energy use of the water body. The analysis first focuses on the legal classification of the reservoir, distinguishing between the public status of water as a resource and the private or concession-based availability of the basin and its appurtenances. It then considers whether energy generation on irrigation reservoirs may be treated as a connected agricultural activity within the meaning of Article 2135 of the Italian Civil Code, provided that the irrigation function of the basin remains prevailing and the energy use is functionally proportionate to the needs of the farming enterprise. Particular attention is devoted to the proprietary and contractual structures through which this balance is legally organised, including rights of superficies, concession-based titles, hydraulic servitudes and agreements involving owners, tenants and third-party operators. On that basis, the article argues that FPV on irrigation basins may be admitted within the agrarian sphere only where the project preserves the agricultural destination of the reservoir, remains subordinate to the productive cycle of the holding and is supported by a coherent legal framework combining water-law compatibility, private-law availability and reversibility of the installation.