Renewable energy ambitions in northern Colombia collide with Indigenous worries

Yahoo

24-02-2025

Steven GrattanAssociated Press
CABO DE LA VELA, Colombia — Giant wind turbines tower over a cemetery sacred to Zoyla Velasquez and her Indigenous Wayuu community, native to the La Guajira region in northern Colombia.
This arid, wind-swept region, dotted with cacti and roaming herds of goats, holds immense potential to position Colombia as a wind and solar energy leader. However, resistance from the Wayuu community has stalled many proposed projects by multinational companies and the government. The Wayuu have concerns about the environmental and cultural impacts and the lack of prior consultation in what's one of the nation's poorest regions. Now, these companies are also eyeing the region's offshore wind farm prospects.
"This cemetery is sacred to us, the Wayuu," the 64-year-old Velasquez said in Spanish, though she is more comfortable speaking in her native Wayuunaiki. Wayuu leaders say what is threatened isn't the cemetery itself but the spirituality of the territory. "It is here that the bones of our ancestors rest. That's what matters most to us."
The region could generate approximately 15 gigawatts of wind energy, according to Colombia's Mining and Energy Planning Unit, which could power up to an estimated 37.5 million homes annually. It's part of Colombia's just energy transition, aiming to replace fossil fuels with renewables while supporting vulnerable groups like Indigenous peoples. The Wayuu say this isn't happening.
Rising tensions
Construction started on the La Guajira 1 wind farm — which looms over the cemetery near Cabo de la Vela — in 2020 after a mix of legal processes, government backing, and controversial negotiations and unsatisfactory prior consultation. It faced significant opposition from the Wayuu and has been producing electricity since 2022, but is not yet hooked up to the interconnected system.
"Wayuu spirituality is the fundamental base of our life and existence," said Aníbal Mercado, a "Palabrero," head of the regional Wayuu council. He wasn't part of the consultations due to his staunch opposition. "If something disturbs the peacefulness of our dead, they're affecting spiritual peace and tranquility. And as long as (the turbines) are there, there is going to be direct violation, anxiety and impact."
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part of a series of on how tribes and Indigenous communities are coping with and combating climate change.
A lot of the population also preserve traditional, semi nomadic ways of living on "rancherias," which are thatched-like roofed huts, made from dried cacti and mud, herd cattle and goats, and many are armed. They also have a traditional governance system and laws based on their cultural and spiritual practices.
Critics warn that the government's push to expedite approvals for other developments could escalate tensions.
"La Guajira has been very sought after by these companies," Samuel Lanao, head of Corpoguajira, La Guajira's environment authority told The Associated Press in Riohacha, the region's capital. "When a foreign company enters these territories with the intention of exploiting renewable energies, there is always going to be a clash."
Colombia's government has committed to respecting Indigenous rights through legal frameworks like the 1991 Constitution, which recognizes Indigenous autonomy, and international agreements that ensure their right to prior consultation and participation in decisions that affect them. The 2016 Peace Agreement also touched on Indigenous communities' rights, land restitution, and participation in political processes.
Social issues have begun to spook companies, with 57 planned projects stalled, according to Indepaz, a Bogotá-based development organization with extensive research on the matter. While some projects are Colombian, the majority involve international companies from Brazil, Europe, U.S. and Canada.
"It's clear they're worried. There's been a slowdown in the progress of these energy transition projects precisely because of that conflict," Lanao said. "I believe that the national government plays an important role in achieving a community-company agreement."
Colombia's environment ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
A replacement for coal?
The region is home to Cerrejon, one of the largest open-pit coal mines in the world and a major player in Latin America's mining sector, which has been in operation since 1985. The mine has just nine years left in its lifespan, and its closure, without alternative plans in place, will deal a significant blow to the region's economy.
"You can imagine what this energy transition means to us," Lanao said. "This renewable energy sector comes to supply the income that the coal exploitation gives us today in La Guajira."
Developing wind projects in Guajira is key to guaranteeing a reliable supply of electricity in Colombia, says Margarita Nieves, founder of Colombian Offshore Wind Research Network and La Guajira native.
Nieves added for La Guajira, it represents an opportunity to have a new industry that will generate employment, position it as a center for the production of goods and services for the wind energy sector, and contribute to meeting the electricity demand of its inhabitants.
But the issue is also causing internal friction within the Wayuu community which stems from differing views on economic benefits, with some supporting development for financial gain.
The AP spoke to several Wayuu families living near wind turbines who do not oppose the companies operating there, as they have received financial assistance and housing.
Others are not convinced.
"An old saying goes that if you've never owned a chicken, manure looks like an egg to you," Mercado, the Palabrero, said when asked about those in the community who accept help from the companies, which is much less than what he'd consider fair compensation.
"There are many communities that have never had anything. In the midst of so much need, so much crisis, so much hunger, any little penny that they are being offered now seems like a miracle cure and the greatest wealth in the world to them," he said.
New offshore plans also shunned
Companies are now carrying out studies for offshore wind farms, which is also enraging the Wayuu, especially traditional fishers, known as Apalanchii.
Lanao, of the environmental authority, says just because the project is in the sea, it does not mean the communities do not have influence.
The Apalanchii use traditional fishing techniques, with nets, hooks and sometimes spearfishing. It is not only a means of sustenance but also a culturally important activity which they say ties them to their ancestors and the land.
"We are really worried about the offshore wind farms," said fisherman Aaron Laguna Ipuana, 57, during an early morning fishing trip in Cabo de la Vela with his crew. "They're going to displace us and the sea is everything to us. It sustains us."
Mercado says the government needs to do more to ensure Wayuu people are involved.
"We are concerned that these projects continue and that the government is letting them go ahead, without even coming to say what is going to happen and what is in the interest of the Wayuu people," said Mercado.
"The Wayuu defend their territory with blood and death, if necessary," he said.
At the cemetery, Velasquez, dressed in a traditional Wayuu robe and headscarf, gently strokes and observes the graves alongside her sister and young niece. In the background, the turbine blades continue to turn.
"The nobility of a Wayuu is used by companies," Velazquez says. "May they do something good for us ... the way we want it."