Looking like huge, beached white whales in an arid landscape, the wind turbine’s blades lie on the ground. This is Cabo de la Vela, a remote area on the northern tip of the Colombian Guajira, a huge desert region on the Caribbean coast. The turbine is one of ten on the first wind farm to be built in Colombia in 17 years. It will stand 78 metres tall, each blade 49 metres long. The turbines are the new improved variety – bigger, more powerful and more cost-efficient because they can tap higher wind speeds.
The wind farm, called Guajira I, is owned by the Colombian hydroelectric company Isagene. Next door is Jepírachi, a wind farm owned by Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM). Jepírachi was pioneering when it was inaugurated in 2004. Now, its rickety turbines are near the end of their useful life. Black oil runs down the towers, staining what’s advertised as a “clean” source of energy. When asked about this, EPM explained that the park was a pilot project, intended as a place “to learn about the technology, evaluate the benefits of wind energy and build a relationship with the Wayúu community”.
