Mexico has enormous wind power potential, especially in the isthmus Tehuantepec in southern state Oaxaca, but social concerns must be taken into consideration when the alternative energy is developed, experts said Tuesday at a public event.
Deborah Ley, a Mexican-born academic who has worked as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank, pointed out that wind power development, which could create jobs, have created conflict in Oaxaca.
"Clear contracts are essential," said Ley, who has also worked as a consultant for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Mexican Energy Ministry plans to build the region into a major electricity generator with a capacity of 3,000 MW by 2012.
"Mexico plans to install 2,500 MW of capacity in three years, something that took 34 years in the United States," said Martin Pasqualetti, a professor at Arizona State University.
The plan has generated protests in the region by farmers who believe big energy companies have defrauded them of the land needed for the project.
"The big energy companies can clearly afford a lot more than they are paying," Pasqualetti said at the event sponsored by the U.S. embassy in Mexico.
He said farmers would be enthusiastic about the wind project when they receive adequate compensation, which may not take much of the firms' operation costs.
Pasqualetti said the companies may not have deliberately tricked the residents.
The conflicts may have taken place because local people lack a clear understanding of the industry to which they are lending their land, and on the other hand, the large companies lack the culture of working with small communities affected by their projects.
"Engineers need to consider possible local opposition at the beginning of their plan, and a failure of this means the necessity to pay more money in the long term, although costs may be cheaper initially," Pasqualetti said.
