Ensuring Fair Participation in the Global Pursuit of Clean Energy avoids Marginalizing the World's Most Vulnerable Populations
In the global push towards renewable energy, a key challenge lies in integrating large-scale projects into national grids without favouring private interests over surrounding communities. This issue is particularly relevant in Mexico, a country with over 3,200 megawatts of operational wind power, with Oaxaca providing more than 80% of the country's total wind-power output.
Mexico's wind energy sector is not without controversy, however. Reports of land contracts being negotiated in bad faith, and wind turbines producing energy that does not benefit local communities, have raised concerns. Moreover, indigenous landowners in Mexico receive a smaller percentage of the gross income produced by wind turbines compared to their counterparts in the US and Europe.
To address these issues, best practices for environmental and social due diligence during the development of energy projects have been proposed. Oxfam, an international organization, has published a brief describing these practices, which include inclusive stakeholder engagement, local economic development, benefit-sharing mechanisms, supportive policy frameworks, and capacity building and technology transfer.
Inclusive stakeholder engagement is crucial in Mexico, where much of the land is communally held and most indigenous landowners are illiterate and don't speak Spanish. Ensuring early and meaningful participation of local communities, indigenous peoples, and vulnerable groups in project planning and decision-making helps address social concerns and align benefits with community needs.
Local economic development is another key strategy. Wind projects should prioritize local job creation, skills training, and sourcing of materials and services to maximize economic opportunities in host regions. This supports sustainable livelihoods beyond the project lifetime.
Benefit-sharing mechanisms, such as community funds, profit-sharing, or local ownership stakes, help distribute economic gains from wind energy equitably. Such mechanisms build trust and social license to operate.
Supportive policy frameworks are essential to encourage equitable access to wind energy benefits. Governments should establish clear regulations and incentives that facilitate land rights, grid access, and financing tailored to local contexts.
Capacity building and technology transfer are also vital. Investing in local capacity and knowledge enables communities and local businesses to participate more effectively in wind energy development and maintenance.
Mexico's wind energy sector offers an example where these principles have been applied. In Oaxaca, efforts have been made to include local indigenous groups through community consultations and benefit-sharing agreements. However, challenges remain to fully ensure equity and conflict avoidance.
Globally, lessons from Mexico and other developing countries suggest that combining technical deployment with social, economic, and institutional measures is critical to ensure that wind projects contribute to sustainable and inclusive development. While none of the reviewed documents focus exclusively on Mexico’s wind project equity practices, the principles extracted align with global best practices highlighted by IRENA and policy research.
References: [1] Oxfam (2017). Power for the People: Best Practices for Environmental and Social Due Diligence in Energy Projects. Retrieved from https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/power-people-best-practices-environmental-and-social-due-diligence-energy-projects
[2] International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2018). Renewable Energy and Social Inclusion: A Guide for Policy Makers. Retrieved from https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2018/Mar/IRENA_RE_and_Social_Inclusion_A_Guide_for_Policy_Makers.pdf
[3] World Bank Group (2017). Navigating the Wind Energy Revolution: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries. Retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29753
- The global focus on renewable energy highlights the challenge of integrating large-scale projects into national grids without favoring private interests over communities, particularly in nations like Mexico with significant wind power output.
- Reports of unjust land contracts and wind turbines benefiting neither the local communities nor indigenous people in Mexico have sparked concerns, with indigenous landowners receiving a smaller percentage of the gross income compared to their counterparts in the US and Europe.
- To tackle these issues, Oxfam and other organizations have proposed best practices such as inclusive stakeholder engagement, local economic development, benefit-sharing mechanisms, supportive policy frameworks, and capacity building and technology transfer.
- Early and meaningful participation of local communities, indigenous peoples, and vulnerable groups in planning and decision-making helps address social concerns and align benefits with community needs, especially in regions where much of the land is communally held.
- Prioritizing local job creation, skills training, and sourcing of materials and services maximize economic opportunities in host regions, ensuring sustainable livelihoods beyond the project lifetime.
- Benefit-sharing mechanisms like community funds, profit-sharing, or local ownership stakes promote equitable distribution of economic gains from wind energy.
- Clear and supportive policies with regulations and incentives tailored to local contexts encourage equitable access to wind energy benefits and facilitate land rights, grid access, and financing.
- The principles of capacity building, technology transfer, equitable benefit-sharing, and supportive policy frameworks, when combined with technical deployment, can ensure that wind projects contribute to sustainable and inclusive development in both Mexico and other developing countries, aligning with global best practices highlighted by IRENA and policy research.
