Wind Energy Subsidies Pose Opportunity for Corruption

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The powerful gusts of air that draw the world’s best windsurfers to the coastal town of Santa Lucia Tirajana, Spain, also drew the attention of the community’s most corrupt local politicians and businessmen, the New York Times reports. There were municipal plans to build wind turbines just off the coast of the town, waters that are currently home to an annual windsurfing competition. But a yearlong investigation by Spanish police showing abnormalities in the new turbines’ financing led to the mayor, five town officials, and two developers being charged with peddling, misuse of public office, and bribery.

Wind energy and other renewable energy technologies may have an eco-friendly image, and have been central at this week’s climate change talks in Copenhagen, but they perpetuate another type of green, too. In Europe, subsidies topping 40 million Euro have been allocated for wind farm investment. And Spain is not the only nation dealing with cases of windy fraud. Though authorities say it is impossible to know the extent of fraud in public spending on wind energy, the Times reports that there have been numerous recent investigations throughout Europe. This year, five Corsican nationalists were jailed and fined for embezzling 1.54 million Euro in wind farm subsidies. In Italy, three other investigations of wind subsidy fraud are underway, including one officials have dubbed “Gone With the Wind.”

 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

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And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

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