Offshore Wind Licensing in Colombia : A Pioneer in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America has the cleanest energy matrix in the world and is expected to have 70% of its electricity consumption generated from renewable energies by 2030. Colombia is an energy-rich country with an abundance of oil and gas reserves, although these are declining. Colombia also has a large installed hydropower capacity, accounting for up to 70% of the country's electricity production. Despite this, there is a growing impetus to develop offshore wind projects to diversify Colombia's energy mix. More generally, Colombia has spearheaded the energy transition in Latin America in recent times and it aims to use this opportunity to foster an industrial policy shift. Offshore wind development forms part of Colombia's proposed energy transition and, more broadly, the region's energy transition. While there are no wind turbines in Colombian territorial waters or Exclusive Economic Zone, Colombia has some of the best wind resources in the world, with Net Capacity Factors (NCFs) up to 70% in the waters located near the Guajira Peninsula, in the Caribbean Sea, northwest of the country.The Colombian case is pioneering in the Caribbean and worthy of an in-depth study. Colombia has taken the development of its regulatory framework seriously, engaging in consultations and collaboration with different institutions and energy agencies to prepare its legislation. This makes the Colombian legal regime for unconventional renewables a front-runner in ‘offshore wind legal technology’. Given that permit rounds are to be allocated later in 2023, Colombia will become the first country in the Caribbean to start projects in earnest. Its legal framework is likely to receive attention and be replicated in several Latin American jurisdictions that share language and legislative and regulatory legal cultures or legal traditions. Colombia and Brazil are the first Latin American countries to firmly set in motion offshore wind projects and aspirations, and Colombia’s legal offshore wind regime appears to be the most advanced in Latin America, and is comparable (or better) to that used in Spain