TERRITORIES OF THE WINDS – GEOPOLITICS, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND CHALLENGES OF WIND ENERGY IN BRAZIL

Abstract

In a global scenario increasingly marked by the search for sustainable energy generation alternatives, Brazil has stood out in recent decades for its significant expansion of wind energy. Since then, what was once a complementary and incipient source has come to play a central role in the national energy matrix, especially in the Northeast region, where about 80% of the country's wind farms are concentrated. Thus, it is possible to observe that the “force of the winds” has begun to reconfigure not only the way energy is produced, but also the way the territory is disputed, appropriated, and re-signified by different social, economic, and political actors. This study focuses on the so-called “wind territories,” that is, the areas of expansion and consolidation of wind farms in Brazil, understood as spaces of tension and articulation between public and private interests, technical-scientific knowledge and traditional knowledge, as well as complex socio-environmental dynamics. In other words, we seek to analyze how wind energy, although cloaked in an aura of “clean energy,” has had significant impacts on local ecosystems and the populations living in their surroundings, especially rural, traditional, and indigenous communities. With the aim of problematizing the contradictions of this energy development model, the research seeks to: understand the socio-environmental impacts generated by this expansion, such as land conflicts, continuous noise, suppression of native vegetation, and risks to local fauna; and also discuss the technical challenges related to the intermittency of production, integration with the electricity grid, and maintenance of wind turbines. In addition, it proposes to reflect on the limits of a model that, although renewable, can reproduce inequalities and render invisible the knowledge and rights of the affected populations. Therefore, the starting question that guides this investigation is the following: How has the rapid expansion of wind farms in Brazil been reconfiguring the use and meaning of territories, and what are the socio-environmental impacts and technical challenges resulting from this new energy geopolitics? Theoretically, we made use of the works of Acselrad (2004), Baitelo (2016), Bernard (2019), Burton (2001), Cavalcanti (2021), Dove (2015), Gannoum (2015; 2022), Gorayeb (2019), Groh (2015), Harvey (2003), Herzog (2001), Inoue (2016), Johnson (1985), Jannuzi (2012), Kammen (2001; 2015), Köppel (2006), Manwell (2002), Melo (2019), Mitchell (2011), Moore (2016), Pimentel D. (2008), Pimentel P. (2023), Peruchi (2024), Peters (2006), Pinguelli Rosa (2013), Quaschning (2005; 2011; 2019), Sauer (2003), Svampa (2015), Yumie Aoki Inoue (2016), among others. The research is qualitative (Minayo, 2007), descriptive, and bibliographic (Gil, 2008) in nature, with a comprehensive analytical bias (Weber, 1948). The findings of this research reveal that the expansion of wind energy in Brazil has reconfigured territories not only from a physical and technical point of view, but also symbolically, politically, and socially. It was identified that the concentration of projects in the northeastern semi-arid region occurs due to structural factors of territorial vulnerability, favoring the asymmetric appropriation of winds by large corporations. In addition, the invisibility of sociocultural and environmental impacts in the licensing processes was observed, as well as the absence of effective participation by traditional communities. The research demonstrated that the energy transition, although fundamental, will not be fair as long as it maintains the logic of expropriation and coloniality. Therefore, it is urgent to rethink energy planning models from the perspective of territorial justice and plurality of knowledge.