This French company began work in 2021, in the northeast of the country, which is already home to more than 90% of Brazil's wind energy production, with its strong and steady winds.

The wind farm, which is already well under construction, has 28 wind turbines, with a production capacity of 99.4 megawatts, in a semi-arid area in Canudos, Bahia state, which has granted Voltalia the necessary environmental licenses.

But a wind of criticism rose when community activists reported that these imposing white poles 90 meters high, with blades 60 meters long, would be built on the sanctuary of the Lear macaw (anodorhynchus leari).

This blue parrot was named by ornithologist Charles-Lucien Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon, in the mid-nineteenth century, in tribute to the British poet, painter and explorer Edward Lear, who immortalized it in his sketches.

Aerial view of the Canudos wind farm, Bahia state, on May 5, 2023 in Brazil © Rafael Martins / AFP

Currently, only about two thousand specimens remain in the wild.

"Irreversible"

Marlene Reis, from the NGO Projeto Jardins da Arara de Lear, fears that wind turbines in Canudos will "significantly increase the risk of extinction" of this bird of about 75 cm, with bright blue plumage.

For this specialist, the impact can be "irreversible", for an animal that lives and breeds exclusively in the region. The wind turbines are therefore on the road of its flights, with risks of collision.

Lear's macaws, electrocuted dead while flying too close to the wind turbines of the Canudos complex, in the state of Bahia, on May 5, 2023 in Brazil © Rafael Martins / AFP

These arguments were deemed admissible by a federal court, which suspended the work in April, cancelling the permits issued to Voltalia by the state of Bahia.

The court ordered that further studies be conducted, and that local people be consulted.

Voltalia, a multinational present in twenty countries and four Brazilian states, appealed.

Nicolas Thouverez, head of the company in Brazil, assured AFP that "the possible environmental and social consequences" had been "exhaustively addressed".

According to him, studies already conducted by specialists to obtain permits from local authorities "have shown that the installation of wind farms does not threaten the conservation of the species" of Lear's macaws.

Lear's macaws fly over a reserve, near the Canudos wind complex, in the state of Bahia, on May 5, 2023 in Brazil © Rafael Martins / AFP

Voltalia also offers solutions to limit the impact on parrots: one of them would be to install a mechanism that blocks the movement of the propellers as soon as it detects the arrival of one of these birds. The other would be to equip some of them with GPS to better observe the trajectories of their flights.

Massive investments

But blue parrots are not the only concern of local people.

In the areas around the Voltalia wind farm, nearly 7,500 small rural producers fear that their activities will be affected.

Adelson Matos, a 65-year-old white-bearded farmer who raises goats, sheep, cows and grows fruit trees in the nearby town of Alto Redondo, is contrary to "any kind of harmony with the natural habitat".

Farmer Adelson Matos raises goats, sheep and cows on his farm, near Canudos, Bahia state, on May 5, 2023 in Brazil © Rafael Martins / AFP

In particular, he fears that wind turbines could affect the cycle of winds and rains in the region. Even before they are put into service, he is already complaining about the noise of the comings and goings of vehicles "day and night".

Brazil is the member of the G20, the top twenty economies in the world, with the largest share of renewable energy sources, producing 89% of the country's electricity.

And while hydroelectric plants still account for more than 60% of this production, the share of solar and wind continues to increase.

Returning to power for a third term in January, leftist President Lula has promised to make the fight against climate change a priority, unlike his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).

A truck transports a piece of wind turbine for the Canudos complex, in the state of Bahia, on May 5, 2023 in Brazil © Rafael Martins / AFP

Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira recently announced his ambition to make northeastern Brazil, which is already home to 725 of the country's 828 wind farms, "the largest reserve of clean and renewable energy in the world".

To achieve this, the government hopes to attract investments of 120 billion reais (about 22 billion euros).

© 2023 AFP