How it works

The traffic lights are based on public data and measure distances as the crow flies. Here is where the data comes from, how to read it and what it cannot tell you.

How to read a result

We measure the distance to the nearest point of the route. A power line can run past a site even if the pylon is far away. If the distance falls exactly on a threshold, the better colour applies.

Indicator	What it is measured from	Green	Yellow	Red
Energy	Power lines over 132 kV	up to 1 km	1–5 km	over 5 km
Fibre	Fixed network at the nearest building, on 20-metre cells. The colour depends on the technology, not the distance. Grey if there are no buildings with data within 500 m	FTTH within 300 m	FTTC, FWA or FTTH further away	ADSL only
Water	Water mains and aqueducts, where they are on the map. Otherwise the nearest river, canal or lake	up to 1 km	1–3 km	over 3 km

Grey: to be verified Public data shows nothing within 30 km. The infrastructure may be there, but nobody has ever put it on the map. Here the answer comes from an on-site survey.

Where the data comes from

The data comes from open public archives. We keep it on our server and update it every month: that is why a search answers in a couple of seconds.

Power linesFrom OpenStreetMap. We only count lines above 132 kV: local distribution lines are left out.
WaterFrom OpenStreetMap: water mains and aqueducts, then rivers, canals and lakes. We do not count bodies of water under one hectare.
Data networkFrom AGCOM's BroadbandMap, which publishes expected fixed-network technology and speed. If the service does not respond, we estimate from the nearest access point in PeeringDB, and the card says so.
Motorways and mapFrom OpenStreetMap. The background map is Protomaps, on our server.

The "Suitable area" badge

If the site is within 300 metres of a motorway, a green badge appears. Under Italian renewable energy law (Legislative Decree 199/2021), these areas are suitable for plants and have faster procedures. Beyond 300 metres the badge does not appear, and that is not a negative judgement.

Mind the setback distance Next to a motorway there is a strip where building is not allowed: usually 60 metres from the road boundary, outside built-up areas. We measure from the centre of the carriageway, so a site right next to it is not necessarily the best one.

What the traffic light cannot tell you

Available power capacity

How many megawatts can still be drawn from a line or substation is not public data. Only the grid operator can confirm it, on request.

The fibre route

AGCOM says which technology reaches buildings, not where the cables run. On empty land we read the nearest building, and the data are averages: the real connection may differ.

Water main mapping

Water mains are underground, and the map shows many in some regions and few in others. Where they are missing, we measure from the nearest river or canal.

Planning use

A site can have three green lights and still not be buildable. Land use is set by each municipality's local plan: checking it is part of the survey.