Large-scale green grabbing for wind and solar PV development in Brazil

Brazil has experienced rapid growth in wind and solar PV installations since 2010, driven by increasing electricity demand and climate policy goals. This expansion, however, risks exacerbating existing land conflicts stemming from unequal land ownership patterns and weak governance. While research on land grabbing in Brazil has focused on deforestation, the link between renewable energy expansion, investment, and land tenure—characterizing 'green grabbing'—remains poorly understood. This study aims to quantitatively and spatially assess the scale of green grabbing for wind and solar PV parks in Brazil, analyzing the roles of international and domestic actors and the land tenure implications.

The concept of land grabbing, encompassing large-scale land acquisition, has been widely studied, initially focusing on farmland for food and fuel crops. The emergence of 'green grabbing' highlights how land acquisition is justified by environmental agendas such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and renewable energy production. However, the definitions and implications of both land grabbing and green grabbing remain contested. In the Brazilian context, land grabbing research has primarily concentrated on Amazon deforestation, neglecting the specific dynamics of renewable energy projects. Existing databases, such as the Land Matrix, struggle to provide comprehensive data for empirical analysis of green grabbing by VRES due to the sparse availability of investment and land tenure data. Brazil's land tenure system is characterized by high insecurity, overlapping claims, and weak governance, making it challenging to track land deals related to VRES projects.

This study integrates multiple datasets to trace green grabbing in Brazil from 2000 to 2021. Data sources include the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL), the National Property Certification System (SNCI), the Land Management System (SIGEF), the Rural Environmental Registry System (SICAR), and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The analysis focuses on identifying the involved actors (investors and owners) and assessing the land tenure situations of wind and solar PV parks. The BNEF database provides information on project owners and investors, allowing for analysis of international and domestic involvement. The spatial distribution of wind and solar PV parks is obtained from ANEEL, with area information for solar PV derived from OpenStreetMap and Google Maps. Land tenure data from INCRA, SIGEF, SNCI, and SICAR are integrated, with a prioritization scheme to resolve overlapping claims. Control areas are randomly sampled from municipalities to compare land tenure patterns in park areas versus non-park areas. Statistical tests (t-tests) are used to compare land tenure characteristics between park and control areas. Temporal proximity between investment and privatization activities is assessed to determine potential causality. The study considers various land tenure regimes: private land (with licit property titles or CAR titles), public land (conservation units, indigenous lands, etc.), and undesignated public land.

Foreign companies, primarily European, are significantly involved in Brazilian wind and solar PV projects. European actors are involved in 78% of wind parks (2,148 km²) and 96% of solar PV parks (102 km²). While Brazilian entities hold the majority of direct ownership in wind parks (89%), a substantial portion (68%) of parent owners are foreign, mostly European. In solar PV, 90% of parent owners are foreign, predominantly European. Investment in wind parks shows significant participation by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). Solar PV investment is mostly driven by private entities, with two Italian subsidiaries dominating. Regarding land tenure, 64% of wind park areas and 96% of solar PV areas are on privately owned land with legal titles. However, a considerable portion of wind park areas (36%) lack legally binding private property titles, often relying on CAR titles (self-declared environmental information), which are prone to misuse. Privatization of land has increased around the time of initial investments in VRES parks, suggesting that VRES development is linked to land tenure modifications. Statistical analysis confirms significant differences in land tenure patterns between VRES park areas and control areas.

The findings strongly suggest that large-scale renewable energy projects in Brazil are driving green grabbing, with significant implications for land tenure and potentially displacing local communities. The higher level of foreign participation in solar PV compared to wind power might be attributed to differences in project history, government support programs, and local content requirements. The strong involvement of BNDES in wind energy financing highlights a complex interplay between national and international actors. The prevalence of private property titles in solar PV parks versus the more diverse land tenure in wind parks may be related to differences in resource distribution and developer strategies in securing prime locations. While temporal proximity suggests a link between investment and privatization, the study acknowledges the difficulty in establishing causality definitively due to data limitations and the complexities of the project development cycle.

This study demonstrates the significant extent of green grabbing in the context of Brazil's renewable energy expansion, highlighting the involvement of international actors and the implications for land tenure. The findings underscore the need for stronger legal frameworks, transparent land governance, and protection of the rights of traditional communities. Future research should focus on qualitative assessments of community impacts and the detailed dynamics of land acquisition, potentially including fieldwork to understand the complexities of the permitting process and the negotiation of land access and control. Accelerating the CAR validation process and strengthening international standards are crucial for ensuring a more socially just energy transition.

The study's limitations include data availability issues. The CAR dataset lacks temporal resolution, hindering a precise assessment of the relationship between investments and private land claims. The reliance on publicly available datasets, primarily digital tenure systems, means that unregistered land claims or local-level data are not fully accounted for. Temporal attribution of land privatization to VRES development remains challenging due to the complex project development timelines. The study focuses primarily on quantitative analysis and does not provide detailed qualitative insights into the impacts on local communities and land use conflicts.