The green paradox: Wind turbine construction key to Amazon deforestation

Destroy the world to save the world. That is the paradox facing new green technology, which in the quest for "sustainable energy," such as that produced by wind turbines, has become one of the key factors in the deforestation and destruction of habitats in the Amazon.

The phenomenon known as "Balsa Fever" is causing significant damage to the region, especially in Ecuador and Peru. The wood from this tree is particularly prized for the construction of the blades of giant modern wind turbines, which is leading to brutal overexploitation that affects all living beings in the area.

Although the peak of Balsa Fever occurred between 2020 and 2021, driven largely by the Chinese wind energy market, overexploitation continues, as this tree's wood is one of the lightest, most flexible, hardest, and most resistant commercial woods known.

EIA investigation

According to the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the latest designs for offshore wind turbines can support blades up to 100 meters long. Each blade consumes around 5,300 cubic feet of balsa wood, equivalent to several tons.

Its impact was studied for years by the U.S. Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), who in 2024 identified intensive logging as the cause of widespread deforestation of both cultivated balsa plantations and natural balsa trees in primary forests, islands, and riverbanks in the Amazon.

Ecological and social devastation

But the rush to harvest balsa wood also caused socio-environmental devastation for indigenous communities such as the Achuar and Waorani, who suffered invasions into their territories and exploitation of their members, with middlemen often paying well below market value, dragging entire communities into poverty.

This was compounded by other problems such as corruption, drug use, and pollution in the areas where these peoples live. Several indigenous leaders reported in 2025 that the situation continues, and the scars to the ecosystem and populations is far from being repaired, especially due to illegal logging.

Ecuadorian Amazon: The most affected region

The country most affected is Ecuador, which produces more than 90% of the world's balsa wood, with average annual exports of 56,000 tons between 2013 and 2022. Overexploitation reached such a point that "the dense balsa plantations established in Ecuador's coastal lowlands had difficulty finding mature trees in the plantations during the surge in demand between 2019 and 2020," according to the EIA report.

According to this report, "balsa production in Ecuador continues to depend on the logging of natural forests, with a mix of balsa from plantations and natural forests that, according to the report, varies between 10% and 70%, depending on the exporter."

In addition, the agency reported that "teams of loggers broke into national parks and protected indigenous territories in the Ecuadorian Amazon, including the 2.7 million hectare UNESCO Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. EIA investigators also discovered that illegal loggers entered neighboring forests in Peru, smuggled balsa logs into Ecuador, and laundered them as 'Ecuadorian origin.'"

Call to China and the U.S.

The EIA concluded its report with an urgent appeal to the main causes of Balsa Fever: China and the U.S.—during Biden's term and his radical commitment to green energy:

"They should support Ecuador in enforcing its laws and implementing an effective transparent timber traceability system. The wind power industry should stop sourcing balsa from the Ecuadorian Amazon until the supply chains are traceable and transparent to ensure that they are not complicit in the destruction of Amazon forests and exploitation of the indigenous communities who live there. EIA urges both China and the U.S. to increase dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation to achieve a legal, sustainable, fair, traceable, and transparent balsa supply chain."

However, the EIA warns that its information suggests that "there are rapidly growing signs that another balsa boom is on the horizon to meet the exponential growth of China’s wind power goals in their current five-year plan, culminating in 2025."