We've been hearing about how hot the Italian market for solar and wind is. But we 're only now beginning to realize how hot.
This week, an Italian renewable energy executive was arrested on charges that he used wind and solar projects to launder money for the mafia. Italian law enforcement seized 1.5 billion euros worth of assets, including 43 wind and solar energy companies, according to the BBC and the news agency AFP.
Officials say that the businessman, Vito Nicastri, was taking advantage of Italy's high feed-in tariffs and poor government management to create new companies and recycle cash. Land-owners who belonged to the mafia were also given preferential treatment when siting projects. Nicastri's nickname was, appropriately, the “Lord of the Wind.”
This is the part of the story where we joke about how renewables are supposed to be clean.
renewableenergyworld.com
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