Italian Energy Company Behind “Green Grabbing” in Brazil

"Greenwashing" is a well-known phenomenon, but less attention has been given to "green grabbing" — when energy companies appropriate large areas of common land for renewable energy projects like solar and wind farms.

A study published last year in Nature Sustainability examined large-scale land appropriation in Brazil. It found that Enel, a major Italian energy company, was the largest foreign parent owner of renewable energy projects in the country.

The team analysed hundreds of court records and company documents, and interviewed local residents and landowners, including Indigenous and quilombola communities living near Enel’s wind parks.

They also used satellite data to uncover how Enel became one of the biggest players in Brazil’s renewable energy sector.

Key findings:

• To gain access to public land for its wind projects and secure contracts with landowners, Enel relies on local intermediaries, so called "developers." These developers often engage with the residents with who have lived on common lands without official documentation for decades, and may use questionable tactics, exploiting the fact that many of those residents have not formally registered the boundaries of their properties — a process known as geo-referencing.
• By expanding their claims into these unregistered areas, developers effectively absorb them into renewable energy projects. They also sign long-term contracts with local landowners that experts consider exploitative, often lasting over 40 years and automatically renewing for an additional 20. The compensation offered is low, taking advantage of the fact that many residents are economically vulnerable and have limited formal education, according to experts.
• One particularly contentious site, Aroeira Park, has become a flashpoint for land disputes. A developer working on behalf of Enel has been accused of land grabbing through manipulative use of geo-referencing, according to lawyers involved in the cases. 
• Indigenous and quilombola communities living near Enel's wind parks report significant disruptions to their daily lives. Community leaders describe relentless noise, excess dust, and exclusion from decision-making processes regarding these projects.

Image: (c) Pita Paiva