Ricardo Iriani, president of the Rural Society of the Valley, expressed concern that the Australian firm Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) would have purchased around 140,000 hectares in Chubut to generate wind power from which green hydrogen would be produced in the plant that said the company will install in Ro Negro, raising fears of further depopulation of fields and loss of livestock stock.
“The issue occurs because there is a directive from the Mauricio Macri government that states that when foreigners acquire property for energy exploitation, it cannot coexist with another economic activity,” said Leandro Cavaco, Chubut’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Industry.
Despite the fact that all parties agree on the need to progress in the energy transition, and Chubut is one of the country’s leading wind energy producers, what is sought is to eliminate incompatibility with other productive activities, such as wool production, as this province remains the country’s leading exporter of this product, despite the repeated crises that have afflicted Patagonia’s rural sector.
“The situation is not difficult to fix since there is a will from all parties,” Cavaco says. “Individuals from the Ministry of National Production came to the province, and we also talked with people from the firm via zoom.” They state that they will follow the country’s norms and that they will not ‘enter crooked,’ since they understand that productive enterprises must engage the society in which they are produced. That would not be the case if, as this order stipulates, a historical and fundamental Chubut activity, such as wool manufacturing, is barred from being used to generate energy.
He also mentioned that there is actual proof that the two occupations can coexist peacefully, as sheep can now be seen under wind turbines in various parts of the region when traveling on Route 3.
The provincial official further explained that the topic is now being discussed in a possible tone, because “although having no reason not to trust them, the people of the firm have indicated their desire to invest in this, despite the fact that I have not yet seen any signed document”.
“Some nearby producers are interested in renting the area to grow wool,” Iriani says.
When contacted for this report, Ricardo Iriani stated that the company, as well as national and provincial authorities, have expressed an intention to change the regulations to allow compatibility between the two activities, for which a legal figure will be sought so that, for example, the company can rent or create trusts to allow sheep exploitation while installing wind turbines.
“We have no issues with the acquisition or sale of fields,” said the SRV’s president, “but the partners and producers were concerned about the shift of productive destination, to remove the sheep and devote themselves to the production of wind energy.” The proposal arose as a result of the sheep being sold and the fields being closed, which concerns neighbors because they are left without control of those lands, without predators roaming, and the lands are becoming unguarded in various areas,” exacerbating an already serious problem in the province.
The problem of abandoned fields, particularly in Chubut’s northwestern region, has allowed predators such as the wild boar to advance, which are typical of Ro Negro and have also posed new threats to Chubut’s sheep stock, which has been dwindling in recent years due to successive droughts and volcanic ash problems, in addition to the problem of exchange rate delays.
“The perspective has changed in recent days,” the leader acknowledged, adding that “people from the company came and met with the provincial government and with us, and there is an intention to review the incompatibility of sheep production with wind power,” allowing them to coexist “as in all parts of the world.” They were concerned about the consequences because they were unfamiliar with the area and the national and provincial administrations had foreseen the problem. Now, both actions may be continued with some legal number that will be shown later, because the key element is the will to do it, such as the renting of fields or trusts.
The rural leader admitted that some neighbors of fields next to those sold indicated an interest in renting property to revive sheep production, so he questioned if opening roads and relocating power lines would have a good influence on rural activities.
