Colombia and the winds of the Caribbean Sea
December 6, 2024
The offshore regulatory environment for wind energy in Colombia is at a similar stage to that of Australia.
As the ‘gateway to South America’, Colombia is a significant trans-regional jurisdiction that shares common borders and the Caribbean Sea with both North and South America.
Colombia maintains relatively strong and independent democratic institutions characterised by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties, despite decades of internal conflict and drug-trade-related security challenges. Subsequently, almost a third of the Colombian population lives below the poverty line.1 Such economic concerns affect the socio-cultural development of the country.
The Colombian government’s enthusiasm to establish a thriving wind energy sector can then be seen as an important lever in generation of economic development in the country. Offshore wind generation in Colombia should provide an efficient and sustainable long term energy solution, develop an affordable energy market and generate a new national income source from transnational investment.
As seen across the globe, there is an interplay between the establishment of renewable energy projects and respect for indigenous peoples’ rights. This tension is predominantly due to the land intensive nature of such projects and the systemic lack of respect for the rights outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In many jurisdictions, the primary engagement with Traditional Owners regards the land used for integration between the grid and the offshore energy generation. Whilst this poses an opportunity to protect extant sites, it leaves physical sites offshore and intangible cultural heritage, such as songlines and sightlines, unregulated and necessarily unprotected.
The offshore regulatory environment in Colombia is at a similar stage to Australia’s in that polygons of offshore area have been identified through a process considering cultural heritage sites, commercial fishing, trade routes etc., that also includes areas of high potential wind generation.
The Offshore Wind Roadmap for Colombia was published in May 2022 to provide strategic analysis of the offshore wind development potential in Colombia, considering the opportunities and challenges under different, hypothetical, growth scenarios. The Roadmap’s analysis and associated recommendations are intended to support the Colombian Government establish policy, regulations, processes, and infrastructure of this new industry.
The first stage of project tendering for offshore wind projects has started and, by the end of 2025, permits for exploration will be granted. This inaugural wind energy round aims to allocate offshore areas capable of generating between 1,000 and 3,000 MW. At the end of 2024, nine companies (7 international and 2 Colombian) have submitted accreditation documents for participation in the tendering process.
Following this, permit holders may request a maritime concession, which grants its holder the rights to use and enjoy the maritime area that was the subject of the Permit to carry out the activities of construction, operation, maintenance, and dismantling of offshore wind farms.2
The Colombian coastline identified for offshore wind development poses a potential resource of 109GW. The estimated net capacity factors for representative projects (how much electricity could be produced compared to the theoretical full potential) approach 70% and are among the highest in the world.
This same coastline, however, features many protected areas, critical habitats, environmental sensitivities, and onshore lands that are important to Indigenous communities.
Cultural heritage is considered alongside and on par with artisanal fishing, migratory birds and tourism. Specifically, the consideration is for cultural heritage sites and so the intangible cultural heritage aspects could be damaged, depending on the regulatory and legislative protections in place. The recommendations in the roadmap are that projects ‘seek to avoid/buffer’ these sites.3
To deliver high growth scenarios, the roadmap makes key recommendations. Included within these are several that, whilst not specifically identifying Indigenous communities, reflect the language and ambitions of Australian regulations.
- Initiate stakeholder engagement to establish open dialogues with communities that will be impacted by the development of the offshore wind industry in Colombia.
- Review of the Plan de Ordenamiento Marino Costero, government led marine spatial planning (MSP), to analyse the compatibility of commercial offshore wind deployment with other sea users.
- Map protected landscapes to assist evaluating visual impact.
- Publish general terms of reference for the development of the environmental and social impact studies for offshore wind projects.
It is essential that Indigenous communities are provided the resources to engage with the regulatory and proponent driven process. Understanding cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, is an essential first step in the next stage of energy development in Colombia.
With the discovery in late 2024 of new gas reserves off the coast, it will be interesting to monitor the maintenance of a drive to progress the offshore wind industry. Unfortunately, as with wind, gas also poses significant issues regarding respect for offshore cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible.
Footnotes
CIA, World Factbook – Colombia https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/colombia [Accessed 6 December 2024]
CMS Law-Now, Offshore Wind in Colombia – First Round gaining traction https://cms-lawnow.com/en/ealerts/2024/07/offshore-wind-in-colombia-first-round-gaining-traction [Accessed 8 October 2024]
Renewables Consulting Group, Offshore Wind Roadmap for Colombia – Final Report, 2022, p45
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Colombia and the winds of the Caribbean Sea
