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Wind Power News: Brazil
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Brazil’s big cats under threat from wind farms
Weighing more than 100 pounds, big cats have long reigned over this hot and semi-arid region of Brazil, developing tougher paws for the scorched earth and reaching speeds of 50 miles an hour to bring down wild boar and deer. But nothing could have prepared them for the 150-foot blades now slicing up the deep blue sky above them. Jaguars and pumas are facing extinction in the Caatinga, Brazil’s northeastern shrublands, as Europe and China pour investment into wind farms, . . . Complete story »
In Brazil, rural communities are caught in the eye of the wind farm storm
[Leia em portugues: A luta das pescadoras cercadas por parques eólicos e especuladores no Rio Grande do Norte] Cerro Corá, Brazil – Antônio Acelino de Moura, 65, says he imagined the future had finally arrived at his community in the northeast of Brazil when, in 2012, he heard the news that a wind farm would be built here. Moura, a farmer with tanned and weathered skin bearing witness to years of work in the fields, watched eagerly from his porch, surrounded . . . Complete story »
For Caatinga’s last jaguars and pumas, wind farms are the newest threat
[Últimas onças da Caatinga enfrentam nova ameaça: complexos eólicos] Between March 2017 and January 2018, researchers tracked the movements of a female puma as it prowled around the Boqueirão da Onça protected area complex in the north of Brazil’s Bahia state. They’d named her Vitória, the first puma (Puma concolor) in the region to be captured and fitted with a radio collar, which researchers from the Amigos da Onça program, a wildcat project affiliated with conservation nonprofit Pró-Carnívoros, used to . . . Complete story »
Engie probes problems at Latin American wind facilities using Siemens Gamesa turbines
Engie and Siemens Gamesa are investigating issues at two of the former’s wind farms in Latin America involving turbines under scrutiny over technical problems at the manufacturing giant. Catherine MacGregor, during a conference call to discuss latest results, updated analysts on “technical problems that have been experienced by Siemens Gamesa and its 4.X and 5.X onshore turbine platform”. Global developer Engie uses the turbines in question at two wind farms in Latin America, said the CEO. “We have encountered technical . . . Complete story »
Engie e Siemens Gamesa apuram causa de avaria em equipamento de parque eólico no Nordeste
[Engie Brasil Energia and Siemens Gamesa are investigating the causes of a failure in one of the blades of a newly commissioned 6.2-MW wind turbine at the Santo Agostinho wind farm in Rio Grande do Norte.] A Engie Brasil Energia e a Siemens Gamesa afirmaram nesta quinta-feira que estão investigando as causas de uma avaria em uma das pás de um aerogerador de 6,2 MW de potência recém-comissionado no parque eólico Santo Agostinho, no Rio Grande do Norte. “As causas do . . . Complete story »
Engie (EGIE3) paralisa parque eólico após problema em equipamento; Siemens Gamesa investiga
[Engie suspended operations at the Santo Agostinho wind farm, under construction in Rio Grande do Norte with some machines already in operation, after malfunctions led to the blade falling off a wind turbine supplied by Siemens Gamesa.] A Engie suspendeu hoje as operações do parque eólico Santo Agostinho, em construção no Rio Grande do Norte e já com algumas máquinas em funcionamento, depois de avarias que levaram à queda da pá de um aerogerador fornecido pela Siemens Gamesa, segundo informações . . . Complete story »
Brazil faces dilemma: endangered macaw vs. wind farm
A wind farm in northeastern Brazil sounds like a welcome climate-friendly energy solution, but it is causing controversy over another kind of environmental worry: the impact on the endangered Lear’s macaw. Home to more than 90 percent of Brazil’s booming wind-power industry, the northeast is known for strong, steady winds that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to harness to power a green-energy revolution. The region has drawn the interest of French renewable energy company Voltalia, which broke ground . . . Complete story »
Brazilian court suspends Voltalia wind project over endangered parrot
A court has suspended environmental licenses granted to Voltalia’s 407.4MW Canudos wind complex in the northern state of Bahia over concerns that the project would impact the endangered Lear’s Macaw. Voltalia is currently building the Canudos 1 & 2 wind farms with 99.4MW of capacity. The suspension will remain in place until a new environmental impact study is presented and approved by the relevant authorities, prosecutors said. Federal and state prosecutors sought the suspension after local farming communities warned about . . . Complete story »
Two dead after wind blade truck overturns in South America
The people who died were in one of two pickups which were impacted by the truck, Brazil’s Federal Highway Police said. The accident occurred at 5pm on 9 November near the city of Petrolina. The people in the other pickup involved were not injured. Breathalyzer tests carried out on the drivers of both the pickup and the truck showed no signs of alcohol consumption, police said. GE confirmed to Windpower Monthly that the truck was carrying a blade to Neoenergia’s . . . Complete story »
Wind farms in Brazil are encroaching on traditional community land
Government-backed wind farms have expanded in the northeastern state of Bahia, but face disputes with communities farming on commons pastureland. Its energy is known for being clean, but its rapid expansion across Brazil’s Northeast region has not been so polished. In the state of Bahia, the country’s leader in wind generation, communities in at least 11 municipalities are experiencing conflicts with companies in the sector, some of which have been involved in disputes for more than a decade. Some 248 . . . Complete story »
