Foreign Wind Farm Projects Cause Uproar in Indigenous Mexican Villages Agence France-Presse
go to original April 7, 2013

Wind farm projects and Indigenous peoples - Saul Vicente Vasquez of the International Indian Treaty Council says "The problem is that these renewable energy resources are not being shared with the indigenous communities. They are not part of the process and the resources located in their territories are just used with no sharing of benefits." (UNUChannel)

OAXACA, Mexico - Foreign energy firms have flocked to a narrow region of southern Mexico, known as one of the world's windiest places, to build towering wind turbines, but some projects have angered and torn indigenous villages.

The construction of wind farms has soared across Mexico, with the gusty Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the state of Oaxaca attracting investors from as far as Europe, Japan and Australia.

The projects are a key part of Mexico's efforts to combat climate change, one of the priorities of former president Felipe Calderon that has been picked up by his successor, Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December.

This renewable energy had a capacity of just two megawatts nationwide in 2006, according to Mexican Wind Energy Association (Amdee). Today, it has grown to 1,400 megawatts, with a goal of 12,000 megawatts by 2020, representing 15 percent of the nation's energy.

But some indigenous groups have blocked two projects in Oaxaca, including one that would become Latin America's biggest wind farm, fearing that they would wreck fishing and farming while dividing people over the rent payments.

Read the rest at The West Australian

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