"Colombia's wind farms bring promise and pain for indigenous group", 04 May 2025

...The Wayuu indigenous group, which Mr Iguarán belongs to, has lived on the arid peninsula region for centuries, herding goats, tending to crops, mining salt, and fishing.

With some of Colombia's most powerful winds, La Guajira has now become the epicentre of the country's shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

But this green ambition has faced both resistance and reflection from locals, whose territory is deeply tied to culture, tradition, and a profound connection to nature...

...15 wind farms are currently under construction in La Guajira, and there are plans for dozens more...

"At night, the noise from the turbines disturbs our dreams. For us, dreams are sacred," Mr Iguarán adds...

Despite the cultural disruptions, Mr Iguarán says that his community has benefited from Guajira 1. The energy company behind it, Colombian firm Isagen, has paid for them to have access to clean drinking water, better roads, and sturdy brick houses, which have replaced some of the mud and cactus ones.

Isagen, which is owned by Canada's Brookfield, also pays three local communities an annual fee for the wind farm to be there, a percentage of annual electricity revenues, and 20% from the sale of carbon credits. These are bought by companies wishing to offset their carbon emissions...

"The wind farms produce clean energy, but they create division within the Wayuu communities," explains Aaron Laguna, a Wayuu fisherman, who lives in the coastal village of Cabo de la Vela.

His community is currently in the process of consultations over a wind farm due to be built nearby. He has seen others affected by projects complain about a lack of transparency, poor compensation, a disrespect of cultural norms, and corruption...

These concerns have led to disputes with the energy companies, and even conflict within Wayuu communities. Some oppose the projects, while others feel excluded from negotiations that could bring them benefits.

"There is still this idea that if it is green, it is automatically good," says Joanna Barney, director of environment, energy and communities at Colombian think tank Indepaz. It has extensively researched the energy transition and its effects on the Wayuu...

"There are two worlds talking, and they have not managed to understand each other," he says...