Offshore Wind Energy in Colombia: Socio-legal Challenges : vacíos jurídicos para la protección de la diversidad cultural y ambiental del país

Abstract

In Colombia, the installation of wind farms has encountered formidable resistance from local communities.  While these conflicts have resulted in project delays of onshore parks, in 2023 the government launched the first Offshore Wind Energy Round covering ​​12,000 km2 of the Caribbean ocean.  This article identifies socio-legal challenges that Colombia faces with wind energy. To this end, we identified potential socio-environmental impacts generated by those projects in the country and the legislation that regulates the sector. Through an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, the applied methodology first reviewed literature related to the possible environmental impacts generated by offshore wind farms, as well as the social experience of Caribbean communities with continental wind projects.  Then we analyzed national legislation that regulates the promotion, implementation, and development of offshore wind energy in Colombia.  We also filed requests for information on the related regulations with the Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy, the General Maritime Directorate, and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.  Based on the information collected, we sought to identify regulatory tools that serve to avoid or minimize the environmental and/or social impacts of this type of activity.  We conclude, first, that there is very little information on marine biodiversity in the areas potentially impacted in the first Offshore Wind Energy Round in Colombia.  Likewise, we show that Colombia does not have socio-environmental legislation that prevents, mitigates, or reduces the impacts generated by the production of this type of energy. The State also does not guarantee participatory spaces for the populations impacted by these projects.