Scaling a Wind Energy Frontier on Indigenous Territory
The Colombian government has announced an ambition to deploy roughly 31 wind-farms in the La Guajira region over the coming years, tapping into what is believed to be one of Latin America’s premier wind assets. Many of these projects lie within the ancestral lands of the Wayuu Indigenous people, whose territory is constitutionally designated as “inalienable, imprescriptible and unseizable”. This makes advance consultation and benefit-sharing not only a legal obligation but a fundamental requirement for obtaining the social licence to operate.
Deepening Tensions Over Participation and Fair-Share
Despite the technical promise, multiple reports note rising friction: Wayuu communities complain about inadequate access to reliable information, weak participation in project design, and unclear mechanisms for sharing in the economic benefits of development. While some community members welcome improved services (e.g., housing, water) offered by developers, others argue the electricity generated serves distant cities—not their localities—and fear the wind-farms represent yet another cycle of external resource extraction. This tension raises a critical question: will the enormous wind potential be matched by an inclusive, locally grounded process of development?.
Implications for a Just Energy Transition in Colombia
For Colombia, La Guajira’s wind build-out is a flagship element of its transition toward renewable energy. But its success will depend on more than gigawatts installed—it will depend on how well developers and the state embed principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), meaningful benefit-sharing, and cultural respect into project execution. Failure to do so risks project delays, community blockades, reputational damage and a deeper sense of exclusion among Indigenous groups. In contrast, a well-managed process could position Colombia as a model of a just, inclusive transition in Latin America’s frontier energy zones