Canudos (Brazil) (AFP) – A wind farm in northeastern Brazil was to be a welcome clean energy solution. But concerns about another type of environmental impact pit him against inhabitants and protectors of an endangered blue macaw.
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With strong winds and stable speed, this region of the South American giant is home to more than 90% of the national production of wind energy and the government of Lula da Silva intends to turn it into the “biggest granary” of renewables in the world.
The French Voltalia obtained permits and began construction in 2021 of a wind complex of 28 wind turbines with a capacity of 99.4 megawatts in the municipality of Canudos, a semi-arid area in the north of the state of Bahia.
But it soon ran into a backlash of criticism after it was revealed that the huge 90-meter towers, with 120-meter propellers, cut through two areas where Lear’s macaws (Anodorhynchus leari) roost.
Named after the English poet and traveler Edward Lear, who immortalized them in one of his drawings in the 19th century, these endemic macaws are classified as an endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list.
Currently there are no more than 2,000 specimens in the wild.
“It is very risky: (the complex) can considerably increase the risk of extinction,” Marlene Reis, from the Lear Gardens of Arara Project, which focuses on the preservation of the species, told AFP.
For the expert, the impact of the wind farm “may be irreversible, especially for an animal as emblematic as those macaws, which live and reproduce solely and exclusively in that region.”
In response to these arguments, the federal court halted the construction (already in the final stage) of the turbines in mid-April, annulling the permits granted by the state of Bahia to Voltalia.
According to the decision, a wind project located in the territory of endangered species or routes of migratory birds “cannot be considered of low environmental impact.”
The court ordered more rigorous studies and consultation with local populations.
Voltalia, present in four Brazilian states and 20 countries, denounced an “undue” suspension and appealed the decision.
“The possible environmental and social consequences were exhaustively addressed,” Nicolas Thouverez, the company’s manager for Brazil, told AFP.
Studies required by state authorities and carried out by specialists pointed out that the installation of the wind farms “in no way endangers the conservation of the species and demonstrated the environmental viability of the project,” he added.
The company also argues that the impact can be minimized by painting the blades of the turbines to increase their visibility, placing GPS on the birds or installing technology that allows the machines to stop immediately when an animal is detected overflying.
“In the name of progress”
Brazil has the highest percentage of clean electricity in the G20 (89%) and leads Latin America in its generation, according to the Ember think tank.
Wind and solar plants generate 27 gigawatts (21.5 and 5.4, respectively) and another 217 gigawatts are expected by 2030, the Global Energy Monitor cited in a March report.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who took office in January, vowed to boost that potential, after four years of deteriorating climate policies under the government of far-right Jair Bolsonaro.
Lula wants to turn Brazil’s northeast, which is home to 725 of the country’s 828 wind turbine farms, “into the world’s largest breadbasket of clean and renewable energy,” Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said this month.
Silveira announced plans to install up to 30 gigawatts of clean generation there, essentially from wind and solar sources. Investments could reach 120 billion reais (24 billion dollars).
Voltalia’s park also raises other local concerns.
In the surrounding rural areas, some 7,500 people still practice communal occupation of the land for agriculture and livestock.
“The impact will be general,” Adelson Matos, a 65-year-old white-bearded man who raises goats, sheep, cows and chickens, and harvests fruit in the neighboring town of Alto Redondo, told AFP.
The wind farm “breaks all harmony with the natural habitat,” he says, complaining about noise, rounds of vehicles at all hours and denouncing an alteration of the rain and wind cycles due to the gigantic infrastructure.
“In the name of progress,” he laments.
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