Wind energy were happy to promise their expansion in Colombia. Until he ran into indigenous communities

La Guajira is one of the departments poorer from Colombia, home of Wayuu indigenous people and a land shaken by some of the strongest winds in the country (there is talk of gusts of 11 m/sa 100 meters high), which has turned the region into a key protagonist of the Government’s commitment to renewable energies. The problem is that these pieces are not easy to fit. As the wind turbines have been raising in La Guajira they have also done it The voices in local communities that warn of their impact and see the green revolution with distrust.

There are those who already speak of “The Wind War”.

“Only with the energy of La Guajira …” La Guajira, a Caribbean region located northwest of Colombia, It has sun And wind, which makes it a strategic piece for renewables in the country. He made it clear In 2023 President Gustavo Petro, when during the signing of the Pact for the transition Energy said the department has potential for 25 GW. “With the clean energy of La Guajira at its maximum, we could replace Colombia’s electricity generation, including hydroelectric plants,” He stressed.

Mill display. He is not the only one who thinks. La Guajira offers a panorama attractive enough so that over recent years it has caught the attention of companies in the sector. In 2019 the Indepaz Institute I calculated that throughout the next decade up to 57 wind projects promoted by 19 companies could be built, many of them linked to multinationals.

In summary: tens of thousands of hectares and several thousand self -generators. For now, BBC points out that in the region there are 15 parks under construction that will be added to existing ones, such as Guajira 1with a power of 20 MW.

Something more than wind. La Guajira is nevertheless more than a territory in which to lift wind turbines. The Peninsula is also home to Wayuu peoplean indigenous community that has seen how the soil he occupies for generations became the object of desire for energy. With all that that implies. “The situation is complicated since many companies, several of them, began to arrive with the intention of developing renewable projects,” explained A year ago Mikel Berraondo, a lawyer specialized in human rights and indigenous peoples, in an article published in The country.

To that factor is added another, just as relevant. According to data from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) of Colombia, at least in 2022 La Guajira was the second department of the country with a Greater poverty index. His fact only overcame him. The area too stands out In studies on “multidimensional poverty” and according to data collected in 2022 in the middle Portfolio Thousands of homes also lack electrical connection.

The wind war. The situation in La Guajira has tensioned so much that there are those who already speak of “The Wind War”. And the reason is not so much wind projects themselves as the way they are being deployed. Critical voices They speak of lack of impact studies and a limited participation of communities in the benefits generated by parks. They also question how traditional authorities that represent the peoples settled in the region for centuries have been consulted, which would have in turn referred to conflicts.

“Disturb our dreams”. In An article Prepared two years ago María M. Monsalve explains that the Wayuu have questioned the previous consultations that, theoretically, should ensure that the development of wind projects is not done back to them. The reason: according to critics, there are closed pacts with people who do not hold the property of the land or have decision -making capacity.

The equation is complicated by the existence of different authorities in the communities, the debate on how to compensate them or the impact of plants on the culture of the natives. “At night, the noise of the turbines disturbs our dreams. For us they are sacred,” Point to the BBC José L. Iguarán. When he now leaves his house in La Guajira, what he sees is a row of mills.

What … and how. “There have been no analysis of the risks and studies of impacts on human rights with the participation of the communities. Nor are they seen resolution and mitigation of adverse impacts. And, judging by the complaints that arrive from the Wayuu communities and organizations, the international standards of rights of indigenous peoples ratified in Colombia are not being respected,” laments Berraondo. “Many communities do not oppose the development of projects if their rights are respected.”

The debate, served. The issue is complex because other relevant factors are added to the tensions in the community, such as Energy plans from the country or the contributions of companies to the territory. Despite the noise of turbines or how they affect their traditions, Iguarán admits that in certain aspects its people have also been favored with the arrival of the wind farm Guajira i.

The company behind the project has financed better infrastructure for water channeling or traffic and pays several communities a quota that depends on the income generated by electricity and the sale of carbon credits. Enough? “Companies are not respecting the right to participation for the benefit of communities and, on the other hand, offer them social investment plans with trap, since they can only execute such plans with the same companies that propose them,” Berraondo trench.

A problem with consequences. Beyond the debate generated in Colombia or its media reach inside and outside the country, the situation in La Guajira is relevant because It is affecting to the sector and complicates the plans of the companies.

TO late 2024 EDP ​​Renewables, in charge of the Alpha and Beta parks in La Guajira, decided to leave Colombia. The reason: delays and complications in which several factors influenced, such as COVID, but also the increase in indigenous communities involved in the prior consultation phase. In 2023 And after the effect of “Constant” Protests in the works, the company Enel made a similar decision and took a step back in another planned park in the region.

Images | Isagen, Nelson David Alonso Charry-The Eiti (Flickr) and Tanenhaus (Flickr)

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