Sixty-two wind turbines will soon be planted in the seabed of the bay of Saint-Brieuc, in Brittany, covering 75 km². The Iberdrola company, via its Breton subsidiary Ailes Marines, is at the head of this very controversial project. Before that, other controversies. In Latin America, where ten years ago, the world leader in wind energy left indelible marks.
It is also a candidate for the call for tenders for a second park, this time in southern Brittany. Objective: “Build a project that is both responsible and sustainable”, says the subsidiary of the Spanish giant, world leader in wind energy, which says it is “concerned about preserving the environment”.
The Bretons however followed, during the year 2021, the adventures of the multinational: from hydraulic oil leaks caused by the hardness of the rock to the investigation opened by the national financial prosecutor’s office for “concealment of favoritism”.
Not to mention the unprecedented alliance between disgruntled fishermen and the NGO Sea Shepherd.
So what is behind corporate communication? Journalists from Splan!a journalistic investigative NGO in Brittany, have looked into several emblematic “green energy” projects that this company is carrying out on other continents, through a vast investigation based on open sources.
Because more than ten years before planting its masts in Brittany, the flourishing Iberian operator invested in Latin America.
Accusations of human rights violations, carnage of migratory birds, dead fish and activists fearing for their lives… Around Iberdrola’s projects, the scars are struggling to heal.
At the foot of the wind turbines, organized crime
In the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, huge wind farms are flourishing, carried by multinationals with sometimes dubious practices.
Wind turbines are a sensitive subject in which are intertwined disputes with peasants, accusations of land spoliation and corruption, armed militias, assassinations of journalists and activists…
Despite the leaden screed hanging over the wind turbines, Splann! takes stock of this bloody context, and what we know about the contested establishment of Iberdrola in the region.
Thousands of dead birds
The two large Iberdrola wind farms in La Venta are causing serious concern for migratory birds and bats, and tensions with farmers who feel aggrieved by the multinational.
Splann! investigated the facts on the basis of existing documentation, interviews, and work carried out by local newspapers.
“Ethnocide” in the heart of the forest
The emblematic Belo Monte dam, in the heart of the Amazon, is facing scandals relating in particular to human rights violations.
The very strong mobilization of Amerindian peoples, impacted peasants and environmental associations did not manage to prevent the construction. Iberdrola took part in this contested play-off.
Splann! investigated the facts on the basis of existing documentation, interviews, and work carried out by local newspapers.
Teles Pires: a dam to the chagrin of Native Americans
The Teles Pires hydroelectric plant, built and managed by Iberdrola, arouses the ire of the Munduruku people, who believe that their rights and those of other Amerindian peoples have been violated by the multinational.
Several other dams were built in the Teles Pires river basin, and the Munduruku warriors went so far as to occupy the yards to make their voices heard.
Splann! investigated the facts on the basis of existing documentation, interviews, and work carried out by local newspapers.
Baixo Iguaçu: cascading disputes
UNESCO is ” extremely concerned“: upstream of the famous Iguaçu Falls, the dam of the Iberdrola subsidiary is causing trouble regarding its impact on the environment and on the families of the inhabitants. Hundreds of them have been expropriated, in hotly contested conditions.
Faced with cries of distress from these families, the attitude of the consortium annoys even the government.
Splann! investigated the facts, based on existing documentation, interviews, and work done by local newspapers.