Sicilian Mafia muscles in on renewable energy

The Sicilian Mafia has undergone a stunning conversion to renewable energy. But according to reports, they are doing it less for any new-found green principles than for a slice of the enormous green energy subsidy pie.

Operation Wind, an investigation that led to the arrests of eight people in February, uncovered Mafia promises to local officials in the Sicilian town of Mazara del Vallo of money and votes in exchange for help in securing permits for wind farm projects. Investigators believe that the Mob then builds often shoddy wind farms and sells them on to multinationals via Italian companies.

The Mafia is seeking to profit from generous subsidies available from the EU and Italian government for building wind farms. The hand-outs are complemented by rules designed originally to help Italy meet its EU renewable energy obligations that force the Italian national grid authority to pay wind farms the lucrative rate of €180 per kwh - compared to the normal wholesale price of electricity in Italy of around €0.12 - even if they are not producing electricity.

‘Developers got money to build wind farms which did not generate electricity’

Unproductive wind farms are a common phenomenon in Sicily; many are not connected to the power grid and those that do produce electricity can't always transmit it to the mainland where it is needed because undersea cables do not have the carrying capacity.

In the wake of the February arrests, Roberto Scarpinato, a veteran anti-Mafia prosecutor, last week opened a new investigation into claims of Mafia involvement in wind farm scams. He told the Financial Times: "It is a refined system of connections to business and politicians. A handful of people control the wind sector. Many companies exist but it is the same people behind them.

"This is the amazing thing, that developers got public money to build wind farms which did not produce electricity."

A freeze has been in place for the past year on the issue of permits for new wind farm developments, but even this has played into the hands of the speculators - by increasing the value of developments already given the go-ahead.

As for the Mafia, with the heat being brought to bear on the wind farm scam, they will probably continue their love affair with renewables - and their long-term conversion to more legitimate businesses - by diversifying into solar energy. As one official told the FT: "Sicily is blessed with sun and wind, but it is also cursed by the Mafia." ·