Copyright 2007 Accademia dei Georgofili
The legal framework of the area of energy generated from renewable sources is very fragmented and in a constant state of evolution; for this reason, it is a very complex subject to review. In particular, it is difficult to propose a thorough and systematic review of such framework, because of the overlapping of legal sources at various levels (EU, Italy and the regions). This increases the likelihood of confusion in the interpretation and in the determination of the scope of application of a specific discipline. The paper focuses on the difficulties of finding a general, unambiguous and sufficiently clear notion of the term “biomass”, in particular as it would relate to the notion of “waste”. The paper mainly considers the disciplines regulating the marketing of electric power produced from renewable sources and fuels having an impact on air pollution. Subsequently, the focus is on agro-forestry biomass, whose production was boosted for the first time ever through CE Regulation no 1782/2003 regarding the so called mid-term reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
