With no documents and little choice, a man found himself forced into factory work. He toiled outdoors for up to 14 hours a day, braving torrential rain, cold, and wind without proper clothing. He paid a small fee for the privilege and had no access to food, water, or a place to wash and rest. Babukar, who also came from Africa, explained that several workers shared the same scarce resources, while another colleague helped shoulder the hardest days. He earned around 500 euros in two months. Augustin said he sometimes worked on holidays, at night, and with almost no breaks. On one occasion, a classmate was injured and no ambulance was called. “She went home, and I never saw her again,” she recalled.
The stories of these protagonists, many of them foreigners and hundreds of unnamed workers, reveal a disturbing pattern. Most hailed from Senegal. They became targets of Tecnova SRL, a company operating in Brindisi and Lecce in the Apulia region of Italy, focused on photovoltaic energy. This account is supported by investigative reporting from the Prensa Ibérica group and corroborated by sources close to the case. In April, Lecce’s court handed down up to 18-year prison sentences for seven people tied to the company, marking a historic case of slave labor and extortion while inflating numbers show more than 1,000 employees and 483 complainants who faced abuse. Immigrants who dared to challenge their abusers did so in court. (Investigation corroborated by The Newspaper of Catalonia and Prensa Ibérica sources.)
The defendants include four Spaniards (two of whom served as administrators), two Colombians (one residing in Valencia), and a Moroccan. They faced charges ranging from belonging to criminal associations to reduce slavery and aggravated blackmail. The verdicts named the convicted, yet none of them remained in prison; their whereabouts were reported as unknown. The names cited include Spanish citizens José Fernando Martínez Bascuñana, Luis Manuel Gutiérrez Núñez, Didier Gutiérrez Canedo, and Laura García Martín; Colombians Luis Miguel Cárdenos Castellanos and Andrés Felipe Higuera Castellanos; and Moroccan Brahim Lebhihe. (Public records and court statements cited for context.)
Cut off feet
As the details emerged, a troubling facet of a broader phenomenon came into sharper relief: forced labor within the renewable energy sector. While this case is new in its scope, it echoes long-documented exploitation of migrant workers in agriculture and other industries. Lawyer Salvatore Centonze, who represents 150 complainants in a private prosecution, described it as one of the largest slavery cases in recent memory. He notes that Italian legislation enacted in 2010 created incentives for renewable-energy projects, which, in some instances, were exploited to the detriment of workers. (Statements from Centonze and case records.)
Centonze explains that the Brindisi-based operation at the heart of the case was credited with developing a network that included 14 solar parks. The problem was that, to protect incentives, work had to be completed rapidly, pushing production forward with scant regard for worker welfare. This acceleration created a system where vulnerability flourished. (Court documents and a remaking of events.)
Carmen Ruggiero, the prosecutor in charge of the Brindisi District Anti-Mafia Directorate, emphasized the contempt shown toward workers, many of whom were foreigners paid as little as two euros per hour. She described a state of pronounced vulnerability. In one recorded exchange between defendants, a callous threat was made about cutting off boots to deny workers protection, a stark illustration of the coercive climate. The workers eventually rose up, taking to the streets in spring 2011 to protest, a move that drew public order attention and helped bring the case into sharper focus. (Ruggiero’s remarks and court testimony.)
The investigators acknowledge that a direct link to Spain has not been fully explored, as it may not align with the central aims of the ongoing probe. Still, the possibility remains that certain defendants’ Spanish nationality could reflect broader cross-border dynamics. There were mentions of solar panels allegedly shipped to Spain and Africa, a thread still under review as investigators map the full scale of the operation. (Preliminary findings and subsequent inquiries.)
Leonardo De Castris, the Attorney General from the Lecce Prosecutor’s Office, believes it is essential that victims share their versions of events. He has tracked other immigrant exploitation cases in Italy’s agricultural sectors and expects that more instances of underpaid or coerced labor may surface, especially in sectors tied to energy expansion. He notes that renewable energy growth in southern Italy has coincided with vulnerabilities created by economic pressures and regional horticultural activities. The Xylella infestation, which devastated olive groves, has also influenced shifts in land use and employment patterns. (Official statements and regional context.)
The case has stirred a broader conversation about worker rights in Italy’s renewable-energy supply chain. It underscores how incentives intended to spur green energy can, in some circumstances, be exploited to the detriment of laborers who lack protection and recourse. The situation highlights the need for robust oversight and stronger protections for migrant workers across Europe and beyond. (Broader policy discussion and ongoing investigations.)
As the global move toward renewable energy continues, observers in Canada and the United States are urged to monitor how jurisdictions ensure fair labor standards within solar and other clean-energy projects. The lessons from this case—about accountability, transparency, and the critical value of humane working conditions—are universal and relevant to energy markets on both sides of the Atlantic. (Cross-border implications for labor rights in renewable energy.)