Economic, social and environmental impacts of wind energy generation in communities in Rio Grande do Norte

This study's objective is to present the economic, social and environmental impacts arising from the implementation of wind energy generation companies in communities in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The study is based on Stakeholder Theory. For this, technical visits were made in two wind farms of a multinational company and in five communities impacted by their influence. Aiming at internal validity, interviews were applied at the company and in the communities, constructs and participating employees were defined, and for triangulation purposes, residents' representatives; in addition to the analysis of evidence by audit and sustainability reports. The reliability of the evidence was guaranteed by the questions based on the constructs; in addition, the results were presented to the respondents for verification and final validation. The results point to positive aspects of remuneration and work generation, with unanimity among the company, residents and audit reports on these benefits. Although income is shown to be a positive factor, there are dissatisfactions about fluctuations in amounts paid and the lack of transparency. It was possible to observe the corporate contribution to sustainable development, with actions on wildlife, whose construct identifies synergy in the information collected, with observance for forestry. Finally, significant environmental impacts were also identified, such as noise pollution and atmospheric emissions in the form of dust.