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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.
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 »
Fair winds or fowl: Clean energy clashes with conservation in Brazil’s Caatinga
[Leia em portugues: Aves x eólicas: o desafio de conciliar energia limpa com preservação na Caatinga] The Araripe manakin is a Brazilian bird so unique and so threatened that it has its own national conservation action plan. The species, Antilophia bokermanni, is endemic to the Chapada do Araripe region of Ceará state, and despite its beautiful contrasting colors and the red topknot of the males, was only described by science in 1998. Its range is a very restricted 50 square . . . Complete story »
Turbines in their backyard: How a wind farm disrupted life in a Brazilian town
[Leia em portugues: Entenda por que os parques de energia eólica estão piorando a vida das famílias de agricultores no agreste] Imagine a noise similar to an airplane flying over your house at a low altitude. This is what residents of Sítio Sobradinho, a community of Caetés city, a rural area of Brazil’s Pernambuco state, hear all day. Since 2015, after Cubico Sustainable Investments, a British renewable energy company, built a wind farm in the area, the families living there . . . Complete story »
Entenda por que os parques de energia eólica estão piorando a vida das famílias de agricultores no agreste
[Read in English: Turbines in their backyard: How a wind farm disrupted life in a Brazilian town] Imagine ouvir durante todo o dia um ruído que lembra o de um avião sobrevoando a sua casa em uma altura relativamente baixa. É essa a realidade dos moradores do Sítio Sobradinho, localizado no município de Caetés, no Agreste de Pernambuco. Desde 2015, após a instalação de um parque eólico da empresa Cubico Sustainable Investments na região, as famílias de pequenos agricultores tiveram . . . Complete story »
Siemens Gamesa turbine collapses at Neoenergia wind farm in Brazil
One of Siemens Gamesa’s G90-2.0 turbines collapsed at the Arizona I wind farm at the weekend [rest of article available at source] Complete story »
Lear’s macaws threatened by planned wind farm in Brazil, experts warn
French renewable energy developer Voltalia plans to install 81 wind turbines in Brazil’s Bahia state, in an area that’s also the main refuge of the endangered Lear’s macaw (Anodorhynchus leari). Conservationists warn that the birds may collide with the turbines, especially because they fly at dawn and dusk, when visibility is poor. Fewer than 1,500 Lear’s macaws remain in the area; the species also suffers as a result of trafficking for the illegal pet trade. Voltalia says it is taking . . . Complete story »
Usina eólica no Piauí vê peças despencarem de turbina; fabricante investiga caso
Um parque eólico operado pela elétrica Omega Geração no Piauí teve uma de suas turbinas danificadas no domingo, quando peças da máquina despencaram de uma altura de quase 100 metros. O incidente não deixou feridos, mas exigiu a paralisação da operação do aerogerador, fabricado pela espanhola Gamesa, informou a Omega em comunicado nesta segunda-feira, após questionamentos da Reuters. Imagens que circularam por redes sociais mostram que a torre da turbina permaneceu no lugar, enquanto partes do equipamento, como pás e . . . Complete story »
Worker hurt after fifth GE wind turbine collapse this year
General Electric faces new questions over the safety of its wind turbines after the fifth collapse this year left a worker injured in Brazil. The worker is being treated for injuries after the incident at the Delta 6 wind farm operated by Omega Energia in Maranhao state. A GE statement sent to Recharge said: “On 3 September, a GE turbine collapsed at the Delta 6 wind park, located at Paulino Neves, Maranhao. “During the collapse, three GE employees were at . . . Complete story »
GE investigates new wind turbine collapse in Brazil
General Electric Co is investigating the cause of another accident involving wind power equipment it built and installed on a wind farm in Brazil operated by power company Omega, the two companies said on Thursday. On Tuesday, a GE wind turbine fell to the ground from its tower at the Delta 6 wind farm in Brazil’s northern Maranhao state. A worker is being treated for injuries. Two months ago another turbine made by GE collapsed in Brazil when its tower . . . Complete story »
Brazil wind turbine collapse is GE’s fourth in Americas this year
A 1.7MW GE turbine has collapsed at a wind farm in Brazil, the fourth such incident for the US manufacturer in the Americas in the past five months. The collapse at the 216MW Ventos de São Clemente wind complex in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, which has been confirmed by GE, comes as the OEM probes three recent turbine collapses in the US – in February, May and July – and after a leading renewables insurer has raised concerns about the possibility . . . Complete story »
