From Blue to Green: Transforming Jobs Around the World
Chapter 7: La Guajira — A Region Divided
While hydropower is king in powering Colombia, in the 1970s, foreign entrepreneurs saw another resource in La Guajira: coal.
By 1985, Latin America’s largest coal mine opened in La Guajira. Some locals see the region’s coal as fortuitous — today, that mine employs 5,000 workers, 68% of whom are from La Guajira.
© Fernando Vergara/AP Images
© Fernando Vergara/AP Images
But the community suffers negative health effects from coal plumes that linger in the dry desert air.
Background photo credit: © Georg Ismar/picture alliance/Getty Images
Coal mining relies on millions of liters of water taken per day from nearby water sources. The extractions largely come from diverted streams and rivers that the Indigenous Wayuu people have relied upon for thousands of years.
The increased use of water by coal mines during droughts makes daily life in the Indigenous community especially difficult.
USAID wanted to help. Thomas Black, the Renewable Energy Leader for USAID’s Colombia Mission, saw the opportunity to train a new generation to work in areas other than hydropower or fossil fuels.
Currently, Colombia’s electricity supply uses nearly 27% fossil fuels to keep the nation running but less than 1% wind energy (in addition to the 72% hydropower).
USAID’s training helps shift technical know-how toward new, more sustainable forms of energy. “We see this renewable energy revolution as something that has been ignited and is underway now," Black says.
USAID supports Colombia’s green economy through the Scaling Up Renewable Energy (SURE) project. A collaboration among USAID, Colombia’s government and the private sector, the SURE project supported the country’s first clean energy auctions.
These auctions allow prospective clean energy companies — from wind to solar — to make business propositions and, once accepted, to start clean energy operations in Colombia.
Clean energy auctions, held in 2019 and 2021, have begun to better balance Colombia’s hydro-dependent power grid with wind and solar power. A recent auction in October 2021 included an award to U.S. firm AES (formerly Applied Energy Services) for 255 megawatts of wind capacity with an estimated value of $250 million.
Learn more about USAID’s SURE program and the wide array of experts making an impact on Colombia’s clean energy future.
Learn more about USAID’s SURE program and the wide array of experts making an impact on Colombia’s clean energy future.
Coming up next:
Chapter 8: Jobs for a Green Future
What does the promise of renewable energy hold for the residents of La Guajira and the future of jobs in the region? Read Chapter 8: Jobs for a Green Future.
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