Wind, hydro and other renewables
49 cases in 34 countries, 1962–2025. Most cases: Türkiye (10), United States (8), United Kingdom (4), China (3), Brazil (3).
Developers dispute wake losses from RWE's Dogger Bank South wind farm
Equinor and SSE claimed that RWE's Dogger Bank South wind farm would cost them 778 million dollars in lifetime losses through wake effects. The dispute shows that one wind farm can reduce the output of a neighbour downwind.
US orders stop to Ørsted's Revolution Wind; court allows restart
The US federal government ordered work stopped on Ørsted's Revolution Wind offshore wind farm in August 2025, when it was 80% complete. A court later found the order arbitrary and allowed the wind farm to restart.
Fethiye village's only water source allocated to a hydro line; detentions follow
Medyascope reported in August 2024 that Söğütlü village's only water source in Fethiye, Turkey, had been allocated to a hydro line, and that villagers were detained when gendarmerie intervened. The village was billed 98,000 lira for the cost of cutting its water, the report says.
World Bank inspection panel registers complaint over Rogun dam financing
The World Bank Inspection Panel registered a complaint about Rogun, a hydropower dam in Tajikistan, which was presented as clean energy and linked to US$650 million of financing. The panel's case page concerns resettlement.
Western Sahara's Aftissat wind complex reaches 550 MW
The Aftissat wind complex in Western Sahara reached 550 MW, owned by Nareva, which Western Sahara Resource Watch says belongs to a Moroccan royal holding. The EU Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that EU-Morocco agreements cannot apply to the territory without its people's consent.
AES cancels Chile's INNA green hydrogen plan after observatory warning
AES Andes cancelled its INNA green hydrogen plan in Atacama in January 2026 after the European Southern Observatory said it would cause irreversible damage to the Paranal night sky. A port at Cabo Negro in Magallanes, approved in April 2025, is opposed by Kawésqar leader Leticia Caro.
Destruction of the Kakhovka dam and drainage of the Kakhovka reservoir (June 2023)
The dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on the Dnipro was breached on 6 June 2023 and the reservoir drained within about two weeks. Ukraine and Russia each attribute the destruction to the other; UN and World Bank-led assessments put the ecosystem-service losses at US$6.4 billion to US$14.1 billion.
Texas court rules wind rights can be severed from land ownership
A Texas court ruled in 2023 that wind rights can be held apart from the land they cross. Wyoming has barred that separation by statute since 2011.
Aydın geothermal plants and fig orchards (Sarı Zeybek, Çamköy, Germencik)
In Aydın, Turkey's main fig-growing province, courts annulled environmental decisions for geothermal wells planned in fig orchards, and a minister reported a non-standard discharge from a geothermal plant. Plant owners are paid under a purchase guarantee set in Law 5346.
Tortum Waterfall dries up after hydro plant operator cuts its water
The hydro plant at Turkey's Tortum Waterfall, privatised for 49 years, cut the water and the waterfall dried up completely, Diken reported in February 2022. The cited sources do not give the outcome of the governorship's investigation.
Hydrogen sulphide leak at Indonesian geothermal field kills five
A hydrogen sulphide leak while a well was being discharged at the Sorik Marapi geothermal field in North Sumatra killed five people in January 2021, the Indonesian energy ministry said. What is at stake is the safety of communities and farmland near geothermal drilling.
Hyphen green hydrogen project (Namibia)
A planned green hydrogen and ammonia export project inside the Tsau //Khaeb National Park near Lüderitz, in which the Namibian state holds 24%. Its final investment decision was postponed to the end of 2027.
Offshore wind wake effect disputes (Ørsted, UK and Germany)
Offshore wind farms slow the wind for farms downwind of them. In UK and German waters, developers dispute who bears the resulting losses, and UK law does not define the effect.
Study found flow deficit at Çataloluk small hydropower plant
A 2020 study in Renewable Energy reported a flow deficit at the Çataloluk small hydropower plant in the Ceyhan basin, linked to derivation losses. The stake for nature is river flow and sediment in the reach below the plant's diversion.
China small hydropower closures, Yangtze Economic Belt
China's Ministry of Water Resources said in May 2021 that a rectification of small hydropower plants in the Yangtze Economic Belt had closed more than 3,500 plants by the end of 2020. It said water had returned to more than 90,000 km of river sections where flow had been reduced or cut.
Court in Bosnia and Herzegovina cancels small hydropower permits
A court in Bosnia and Herzegovina cancelled permits for small hydropower plants in 2018, the NGO Arnika reported. River flows at the affected sites are the nature at stake.
Golfrid Siregar death and Batang Toru hydro
A WALHI lawyer who was litigating against the 510 MW Batang Toru hydropower project in Indonesia was found injured in Medan in October 2019 and died three days later. Police concluded it was a single-vehicle accident; WALHI disputes this.
Fosen wind farm and Sámi reindeer herders
Norway's Supreme Court ruled in October 2021 that the licences for two wind farms on the Fosen peninsula were invalid and that the turbines violated the cultural rights of Sámi reindeer herders. The turbines kept operating, and a March 2024 settlement left them in place.
Hidroituango dam and the Ríos Vivos defenders (Colombia)
Two members of Ríos Vivos, a movement that opposed the Hidroituango dam in Colombia, were killed in May 2018, weeks before communities complained to the Inter-American Development Bank, which had financed the dam. The bank group's private-sector arm exited the project in February 2022; no court outcome for the killings was found.
Belo Monte hydrograph and Volta Grande flow reduction
Federal prosecutors in Brazil reported that the flow schedule for the Volta Grande reach of the Xingu River below the Belo Monte dam had failed, and a court ordered it revised in December 2025. Reports cite fish deaths at the turbine intakes and the loss of fish species in the reduced-flow reach.
Brazilian court orders Vale and Cemig to repair nearly dry Rio Doce reach
A Brazilian federal court found a reduced-flow stretch of the Rio Doce almost dry and ordered Vale and Cemig to repair the damage, IRIB reported in August 2015. The cited sources do not say how the repair was carried out.
Mareña Renovables wind farm (Mexico)
A wind farm project in Oaxaca, Mexico had its original site cancelled in early 2014 and was rebuilt as Eólica del Sur at other sites with an Inter-American Development Bank loan. A community police member who opposed the project was killed in July 2018; no court outcome has been found.
Olkaria geothermal projects (Kenya)
Four Maasai villages were moved in 2014 to make way for the Olkaria IV geothermal plant in Kenya. In 2015 the World Bank Inspection Panel found the Bank had not applied its indigenous-peoples policy.
Expert panel says hydropower amplified 2013 Uttarakhand flood
An Indian expert panel reported that hydropower schemes worsened the 2013 Uttarakhand flood, and the Supreme Court halted 24 of them. River valleys in Uttarakhand are the nature at stake.
Çeşme wind farm olive grove partly registered to Treasury despite 2014 halt
The Çeşme wind farm was subject to urgent expropriation in 2013. The Council of State stayed the expropriation in 2014, but part of an olive grove was nonetheless registered to the Turkish Treasury, according to a FAO AGRIS record.
Drax biomass subsidies
The Drax power station in the United Kingdom burns wood pellets that are counted as renewable and subsidised. Ember reported a record subsidy of £999 million for 2025 and £8.72 billion since 2012.
Isthmus of Tehuantepec wind farms, including Mareña, faced local opposition
Wind farms on Mexico's Isthmus of Tehuantepec faced community opposition over land and livelihoods. The original Mareña site was cancelled in 2014 and rebuilt as Eólica del Sur, and a community police member who opposed Mareña was killed in 2018.
NextEra unit ESI Energy admits at least 150 eagle deaths at US wind farms
ESI Energy, a NextEra subsidiary, admitted that at least 150 eagles had died at its wind farms since 2012, and in 2022 it was fined $1.86 million and ordered to pay $6.21 million in compensation. The US Justice Department said the company had deliberately chosen not to apply for eagle take permits.
EU woody biomass and Enviva pellets
In the EU, wood pellets count towards renewable-energy targets, and the UK emissions trading system applies the EU rule that biomass has a zero emission factor. The UK power station Drax received £8.72 billion in subsidy in 2012–2025, and its US pellet supplier Enviva went through bankruptcy in 2024.
Court annuls environmental approval for Loç Valley hydropower plant a second time
A court in Kastamonu annulled for a second time the environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval for a hydropower plant in Loç Valley, Cide, Bianet reported in April 2020. The cited sources say little about the stream itself.
Turkish court annulls Loç Valley hydropower approval; 117 villagers on trial
A Turkish administrative court annulled the environmental approval for the Loç Valley hydropower plant in Cide for a second time in 2020, and the Council of State rejected the developer's objection. Bianet reported that 117 villagers had been on trial since 2012, and the valley's stream is at stake.
Federal prosecutors say Belo Monte dam's flow schedule failed and the Xingu River collapsed
Brazil's federal prosecutors said in November 2025 that the Belo Monte dam's flow schedule had failed and that the Xingu River had collapsed; an injunction they obtained in a 2021 lawsuit was suspended. In 2010 licensing staff had objected to partial installation approval.
Panama moves 1,351 people off Gardi Sugdub island to the mainland
Panama moved 1,351 people from the Gardi Sugdub island to the mainland in June 2024, citing overcrowding and later sea-level rise. The case also covers the 2016 withdrawal of carbon credits for the Barro Blanco hydro dam.
Lake Turkana Wind Power and the Marsabit-Suswa transmission line delay
A 310 MW wind farm in northern Kenya was ready on 27 January 2017, but the state-built transmission line was completed only in September 2019. Kenya's Auditor-General recorded Ksh 18.5 billion in payments claimed for electricity that could not be delivered, and a Kenyan court has found that the titles to about 150,000 acres of community land were irregularly acquired.
US fuel mandate required corn ethanol; land and carbon effects reported in a 2022 study
The US Renewable Fuel Standard, set in 2005 and 2007, required corn ethanol to be added to gasoline. ScienceDaily reported land, fertiliser and carbon effects from a 2022 study.
Turkey allocates hydropower water rights to the highest bidder
State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) allocates water rights for hydropower plants by tender to the highest bidder, the sources say. Draft water laws would allow such rights to be transferred for 49 years or leased for up to 10.
Guri dam, drought and the 2010, 2016 and 2019 power crises: catchment, emergency contracts and prosecutions
The Guri reservoir on the Caroní, fed by a catchment that includes Canaima National Park, fell to low levels in drought years and was followed by emergency decrees, rationing and a 2019 national blackout. Contracts with Derwick Associates, Duro Felguera and Corpoelec suppliers are on record, including guilty pleas in a US court over 2016 Corpoelec contracts and a pending case in Spain over the Termocentro contract.
EU taxonomy hydropower exemption and California large hydro exclusion
In 2021 the EU taxonomy exempted hydropower above 5 W/m² power density, and run-of-river plants, from life-cycle emissions analysis. California has not counted hydropower above 30 MW towards its renewable quota since 2002, citing river ecology.
Merowe Dam: financing, displacement and environmental assessments
The Merowe Dam on the Nile in Sudan, financed by a USD 608 million China Eximbank loan and Arab funds, flooded the homelands of the Manasir, Amri and Hamadab communities; estimates of the number displaced range from over 50,000 to about 70,000. A German criminal investigation into two managers of Lahmeyer International was closed in April 2016 without charges.
Gotvand dam on the Karun: a reservoir on a salt formation
The Gotvand dam on the Karun river in Khuzestan was impounded in July 2011 with a reservoir touching the Gachsaran salt formation. Aftab reported about 7.7 million tonnes of salt in the reservoir by the end of 1391 (March 2013), and sources differ on how much of the Karun's salinity the dam causes.
Mountain gorilla census counts 1,063; Bwindi Batwa evicted in 1991 without compensation
A 2016 to 2018 census counted at least 1,063 mountain gorillas in the Bwindi and Virunga populations, up from about 240 in Virunga in the 1980s. The recovery is set against the Batwa people's compensation claim, which a Ugandan court found unmet and which the government has appealed.
Apo Island reserve raised fish biomass 3 to 4.5 times; Sumilon fell when closed
A village on Apo Island in the Philippines closed part of its reef to fishing in 1982, and fish biomass in the reserve rose three to 4.5 times. At nearby Sumilon, biomass fell 42.7% within a year after protection ended, which raises the question of whether gains last once protection is lifted.
Bou Craa phosphate mine and Morocco green hydrogen in Western Sahara
Phosphate from the Bou Craa mine in Western Sahara is carried to the coast on a conveyor powered by a wind farm, and Morocco has allocated land in the territory for green hydrogen. The EU's Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that agreements covering the territory require the consent of its people.
Mekong upstream dams and the decline of Tonle Sap flow reversal
Each monsoon the Mekong pushes the Tonle Sap River backwards into Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake. A 2022 peer-reviewed study found this reverse flow fell by 56.5% between 1962–72 and 2010–18, and attributed about 21% of the fall to dams.
Gunaa Sicarú wind farm contracts cancelled after Zapotec community suit
EDF's planned 300 MW wind farm on Zapotec common land in Oaxaca had its contracts cancelled in June 2022 after a community lawsuit. The case shows how common land rights can decide the fate of large renewable developments.
WTO panel backs EU on palm biofuel rules in Malaysia case
Malaysia and Indonesia challenged EU rules that take palm-based biofuel out of renewable status by 2030 while not doing so for EU-grown sunflower and rapeseed. The cited sources do not measure the forest or land effect of that choice.
Model finds 42% erosion rise after Coca Codo Sinclair; state firm disputes it
An Ecuadorian model reports erosion rates rose 42% after the Coca Codo Sinclair hydropower plant, a finding the state company rejects. The river bed and banks are the nature at stake.
Solar plant planned for Karaburun wind farm involves about 30,000 olive trees
A solar plant planned to support a wind farm at Yaylaköy in Karaburun involves about 30,000 olive trees. Provincial and district agriculture officials gave conflicting views on the value of the land.
Alleged flow-meter manipulation at a Turkish hydropower plant on the Alakır river
Turkey's minimum-flow rule sets the downstream release at 10 percent of average flow, and the cited sources show no national measurement of compliance. An allegation of flow-meter manipulation at Alakır has been reported; the cited sources do not confirm it.