The BIOTraCes Italian Case Hosts a Landmark Event on Energy and Community Transformation in the Simeto Valley
On 5 June 2025, the Italian case study of BIOTraCes held a major public event in the Simeto Valley (Sicily), as part of the Facciamo la Valle community festival. The event brought together researchers, local actors, and national experts to reflect on how renewable energy is shaping landscapes, ecosystems, and social relations in one of Italy’s most dynamic rural regions.
With the title “Energy and Communities: Transformations, Conflicts, Opportunities and Risks for the Territory and its Communities”, this event focused on the complex interplay between energy production and territorial justice. Organised by the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Catania, and the Participatory Presidium of the Simeto River Pact, it marked a key moment in BIOTraCes’ ongoing work to support transformative governance pathways through biodiversity-sensitive research.
The morning programme featured four thematic sessions. After a welcome by Mara Benadusi, professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the Univeristy of Catania and coordinator of the BIOTraCes research team in Italy, BIOTraCes colleagues Samadhi Lipari and Luca Lo Re, from the same Department, presented their mapping of large-scale photovoltaic installations and emerging Renewable Energy Communities (CERs) in the Simeto Valley. These local processes served as the entry point for a broader national discussion.
Guest researchers from Naples, Calabria, Molise, Palermo and Teramo then shared case studies from other Italian territories, highlighting both shared challenges and specific regional dynamics in the governance of renewable energy.
Participants then joined parallel working groups to debate three central questions: the risks and opportunities of geographically dispersed energy infrastructures; the power relations between private and public actors; and the knowledge and tools local communities need to shape energy models in their own territories. The discussions identified avenues for future collaboration between institutions, researchers, and communities.
In the afternoon, a territorial workshop titled “A Walk in Belpasso” took participants through a landscape shaped by both mega-energy projects and grassroots initiatives such as the Stella Aragona energy community. Co-organised with the local association Sciaraviva, the walk offered a grounded perspective on how ecological, social and cultural dimensions of transformation intersect.
The event forms part of BIOTraCes’ wider ambition to understand and support community-led transitions towards nature-positive futures. Held within the Facciamo la Valle festival, which celebrates ten years of civic engagement in the Simeto Valley, it demonstrated how biodiversity, energy and participatory governance can be meaningfully linked on the ground.