Presentation short abstract

This paper explores the political ecology of bioenergy in Colombia. The paper unpacks how previous processes of migration and uneven development shape current forms of accumulation by (de)electrification. In contrast, practices of energy commons/conviviality shed light on other energy transitions.

Presentation long abstract

Since 2020, the town of Puerto Carreño, in Colombia’s Eastern plains, has been powered by a privately owned biomass-based power plant. Before the plant, Carreño relied on an interconnection to Venezuela’s grid. However, in the early 2010s, political tensions between the two countries and the impacts of the Venezuelan economic crisis on its infrastructure prompted Colombia to end Carreño’s electricity provision agreement. To prevent blackouts, private investors believed they could use biomass from tree plantations to generate electricity. Forestry firms had previously established these plantations for timber exports, but challenging infrastructure and high costs frustrated these efforts. As such, bioenergy emerged as a profitable enterprise to boost the forestry economy and end Carreño’s energy dependency on Venezuela.

Unfortunately, since the plant’s opening, Carreño has experienced blackouts and poor electricity service. Illegal connections to the grid in informal neighborhoods, which are inhabited mainly by poor Venezuelan and indigenous migrants, are often blamed for bioelectricity’s shortcomings. In reality, the private generator’s power purchase agreement established conditions that, I argue, have led to a process of accumulation by de-electrification. As a result, an off-grid community that briefly enjoyed access to electricity during the interconnection “went back to the shadows”, as my interlocutors claim. Carreño’s case demonstrates that present-day aspirations for “energy sovereignty” can mirror unjust capital-driven transitions. In contrast, Carreñenses highlight the importance of interconnections and interdependencies. I show how energy commons such as communal fridges and illegal “spiderweb” connections constitute practices of energy conviviality that pave the way for other energy transitions.