Wind power expansion meets grassroots resistance in Brazil’s Northeast

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🗞️ Driving the news: Wind energy is booming in Brazil’s dry and windy Northeast, but some projects face criticism as communities experience unequal benefits

🔭 The context: Cousins Nilson José dos Santos and Geremias da Cruz dos Anjos, from neighboring rural communities, have had vastly different experiences with wind farm development
• Enel Green Power has invested over $1.4 billion in one of Latin America's largest wind farms with 372 turbines, making Brazil the world’s fifth largest wind power producer

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Wind power is a clean energy source crucial for reducing carbon emissions
• However, resistance grows as communities feel excluded from decision-making processes and experience unequal impacts

⏭️ What's next: Communities like Sumidouro, a quilombo with formal land recognition, have negotiated better terms, including keeping turbines at a distance and securing running water
• Other communities without such recognition struggle with the negative impacts of wind farms

💬 One quote: “We worked to build a protective cocoon so that we would be less vulnerable to these big projects,” said Dos Santos

📈 One stat: Brazil’s wind power capacity has rapidly grown, making it the fifth largest wind power producer globally

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