Effective from May 9, 2024, it establishes criteria to ensure agronomic improvement, adaptation to climate change, protection against hazards, and animal welfare, while maintaining significant agricultural production. The decree distinguishes between proven technologies requiring a ministerial order and those requiring a pilot zone. It also defines the criteria for “sustainable agricultural income,” posing challenges for innovative farms. The decree further modifies the project authorization process, transferring the issuance of building permits to prefects and imposing financial and decommissioning obligations.
Simultaneously, it strengthens restrictions on standard photovoltaic installations in agricultural, pastoral, and forest areas, limiting deforestation and introducing a requirement for a “framework document” to identify eligible lands. This regulation could promote agrivoltaics as a means to bypass these new constraints.