Land grabbing to install wind and photovoltaic plants is one of the most serious threats to farmers and their production, with a serious impact on our food sovereignty and food availability. As well as on the pleasant landscapes that characterize the Bel Paese, and public health as we will see.
This phenomenon – as the writer has already denounced – is a metastasis of the ‘Green Deal’, planned by the financial oligarchies together with politicians of every party and colour. All of whom have financed the ‘energy transition’ at all costs (with our taxes and charges added to energy bills), as well as legitimized the expropriations of land by the giants, in the false name of ‘public utility’. (1)
The revolution is possible and must be carried forward in all administrative and judicial offices, as is already happening in various areas of Italy, as well as in the squares. And it is therefore necessary for farmers and citizens to become aware of the seriousness of the situation. An example from Irpinia, to follow.
1) Wind plants, the business of a few to the detriment of all
Wind power plants, even more than solar ones, are a business for a few giants. Big infrastructures, big costs and big promises to local governments, to make huge profits.
The multinationals involved include GE Wind Energy (General Electric Holding, member of Coldiretti’s Filiera Italia chaired by Paolo De Castro), NextEra Energy Resources and EDP Renewables North America (USA), Suzlon and Inox Wind Ltd (India), Siemens Energy (global leader in offshore turbines) and Nordex (Germany), Vestas (global leader in turbines) and Ørsted (first in the world for offshore plants, Denmark), Greencoat UK Wind, Akuo Energy (France), Iberdrola (Spain).
Behind the scenes – as always and in every sector, from agriculture to arms – is the triad of finance that dominates the world and its policies. BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street Advisors (2,3). Together with other investment fund managers, ça va sans dire.
2) Irpinia, the battle against wind turbines
Guardia Lombardi, an ancient Lombard stronghold in Irpinia, province of Avellino, is today the scene of clashes between the local population and land raiders:
- High Wind Srl, an inactive company based in Bolzano, aims to expropriate land to install a wind farm just 700 meters from a residential area
- the area in question is characterized by pleasant rural landscapes and includes some stretches of the Appian Way, a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage designation
- the local community, thanks to the precious work of Giuseppe Di Biasi, opposes the disruption of its territories. Which are home, among other things, to numerous protected fauna species.
3) Noise pollution
The noise pollution generated by wind turbines adds to the frustration of land robbery and the disfigurement of landscapes:
- the size of the wind turbine blades, their rotational speed and design directly influence the noise level
- this noise, composed of a complex combination of audible and non-audible frequencies, can have serious consequences on people’s well-being
- the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum limit of 45 dB Lden (day-evening-night level) for wind turbine noise. (4)
4) Environmental threats
Ecosystems are in turn destined to suffer irreparable alterations due to the gigantic wind turbines, which also hinder the migratory flows of birds. Without anyone having bothered to investigate the effects of noise on human and animal health and well-being.
The question then remains what will become of solar panels and wind turbines, after the wind and photovoltaic systems have exhausted their production cycles. On closer inspection, the energy giants do not expose themselves directly, but operate through micro-enterprises without guarantees.
The risk is that these micro-enterprises – after having collected generous public funding and sold ‘their’ energy at a high price, transferring large profits to private investors – will fail when it comes to disposing of the materials. Local administrations and farmers will thus find themselves ‘cuckolded and beaten’.
5) Wind farms, some doubts
Wade Allison – professor emeritus of mathematics and physics at the University of Oxford and researcher at CERN, as well as honorary secretary of ‘Supporters of Nuclear Energy’ (SONE) – has published an essay on the inadequacy of wind farms.
The production of electricity equal to that provided by the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station (UK), according to the researcher’s calculations, would require the installation of 5,5 million square meters of wind turbines, with dramatic consequences for ecosystems
- there are no technologies suitable for producing the storage batteries required to store the energy of offshore wind farms (i.e. in the sea, off the coast, the only possible ones to avoid damaging terrestrial ecosystems and landscapes, to the detriment of agriculture). (5)
Offshore wind power plants on the other hand, according to another think tank (Ember), would have injected ‘on average’ 39,4% of total electricity into the grid in the first quarter of 2024. Thanks to giga-plants such as the Seagreen park (1,1 .3,6 GW) and the start-up of the one at Dogger Bank (6 GW). (XNUMX)
6) Stop land consumption!
Assorurale – Italian member of the European Coordination of La Via Campesina (ECDC) participated today in the march organized in Venaria (Turin) against the #G7 energy. ‘While the ministers of the richest and most industrialized countries are meeting to decide on our lives, we have made our voice and our requests heard with a large popular demonstration!‘
Land consumption must be stopped immediately and without exceptions, with a ban on installing solar panels on non-waterproofed areas (i.e. covered by asphalt or concrete) and wind turbines on land. Only off the coasts, at such a distance as not to alter the seascapes.
Stop land robbery! it is a priority of the writer, who has always been on the front line for the rights of farmers and peasants from every part of the planet, and of citizens. And it is part of the program in view of the European elections to be held on 8-9 June in Italy, where I am a candidate in the North-East constituency.
#PeaceLandDignity, #Clean Spades
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) Dario Dongo. Land robbery, ‘agri-solar parks’ and wind turbines. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 3.4.24
(2) Dario Dongo. The tentacles of finance on food sovereignty and our food. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 31.3.24
(3) Dario Dongo. The warlords in the European elections. Égalité. 2.4.24
(4) Radun, J., Maula, H., Saarinen, P., Keränen, J., Alakoivu, R., & Hongisto, V. (2022). Health effects of wind turbine noise and road traffic noise on people living near wind turbines. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 157, 112040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.112040
(5) Wade Allison (2023). The inadequacy of wind power. Notes 40, The Global Warming Foundation. https://tinyurl.com/mry6txww
(6) Gavin Maguire. Wind overtakes fossil fuels for UK electricity generation. Reuters. 23.4.24 https://tinyurl.com/yc5z5tr9
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
