![]() ![]() ![]() “But if anyone is watching Barbie and saying, ‘You know why this movie worked? It’s because of a toy’ you are taking away the wrong lesson.” “Maybe Hollywood is smart enough, which is the funniest start to a sentence, ever,” says one producer with experience in the toy-to-screen pipeline. "Investors are tired of waiting.Away from Wall Street, execs and reps are parsing out lessons learned from Barbie, tempering some of the fervor by noting emulating its success (or even a fraction of its success) won’t be an easy task. "The projects aren't operating and it doesn't seem like they will start in the next two years," said Alejandro Lucio of Optima Consultores, which advises renewables companies. About 65% have pending legal processes and some have been delayed for years. Planned renewable projects could eventually produce 20,000 megawatts, enough electricity for 11 million people, nearly a fourth of the population, says SER, which represents more than 90 companies.Įach megawatt would require between $700,000 and $1 million in investment by companies, taking potential spending on renewables to up to $20 billion nationally. Hydroelectric generation accounts for 70%. Wind and solar provide less than 1% - about 300 megawatts - of Colombia's current energy generation. Licenses for two wind farms belonging to Portugal's EDP Renewables were denied by Colombia's environmental authority because it said the company failed to identify potential impacts in each area of the project, including road access, and failed to properly demarcate protected zones. Problems with environmental licensing have also stopped projects debuting on expected timelines, said Alexandra Hernandez, president of the Colombian Renewable Energy Association (SER). Renewables - even if ostensibly more environmentally-friendly - are facing hurdles similar to those confronted by oil and mining companies, long Colombia's top sources of income. ![]() Joanna Barney, a researcher at non-governmental organization Indepaz said she was aware of the deaths associated with conflicts over renewables projects. Wayuu community members say construction threatens trees and wildlife and has damaged grazing areas for hundreds of goats, killing off a top human food source, and violated sacred territory where their ancestors are buried.Ĭonflicts over projects have caused at least 10 deaths in the communities he represents, Silva added, as fraudulent landowners negotiate with companies instead of actual property holders, sparking violence. The situation in La Guajira echoes challenges in Chile, where Indigenous communities are resisting lithium developments, and Mexico, where dozens of projects in wind, solar and other renewables are awaiting environmental permitting. "We have managed to unblock some and we want to move all of them ahead," said Petro in July, though he said a goal to bring 6 gigawatts of renewable production online during his term "could have difficulties."ĭenmark's ambassador to Colombia Erik Hoeg told Reuters there was "considerable interest" from Danish companies and others from Europe but added: "We are waiting a bit in some cases for clear regulation, for example for offshore wind."ĭialogue must take place with Indigenous communities, Hoeg said, and Colombia should not lose the chance to become an exporter of renewable energy. Members of a Wayuu group blocked roads, preventing workers from accessing the project for about half of the last three years, Enel said.īut Wayuu groups say they have no choice but to use blockades to stop projects on their lands that they have not approved and that protests are the result of a lack of communication. Silva said his group did not manage to meet with Petro and his cabinet during the visit but that those Wayuu who did were left with "more doubts than certainties."Įnel indefinitely halted construction of its Windpeshi wind park, which was to generate enough energy to power 500,000 homes, in May because of protests it said caused three years of delays and cost overruns of more than $250 million. Petro has promised to ensure communities benefit from projects and in some cases even participate in running them. "Authorities, politicians and businessmen sit down to negotiate, not the ancestral owners of the land," he said. ![]()
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