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Accepted Paper:
Solar megaproject impact on land, ecologies and livelihoods in a Mayan community of Yucatan, Mexico
Itzell Torres
(Humboldt University of Berlin)
Paper short abstract:
The study examines the narratives of indigenous people and civil society organizations regarding the impacts on lives and livelihoods that imply the construction of a solar megaproject near Ebtun, Yucatan.
Paper long abstract:
Yucatan has experienced a rapid arrival of renewable energy megaprojects since 2013 when the central government set ambitious targets for clean energy through long-term electricity auctions. A narrative of energy self-sufficiency and green development supported by recurring electricity blackouts legitimates the construction of wind and solar parks in the region.
Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Ebtun, Yucatan I examine residents' concerns of potential impacts on their health, the ecosystem and a sacred cenote to build a solar megaproject near the community and the resistance of indigenous people and civil society organizations through legal actions, which ultimately lead to the indefinite suspension of the project. The study uses interdisciplinary theoretical approaches in the fields of anthropology, human geography and political ecology to explore the intersection of large-scale renewable projects in the context of the climate crisis with indigenous epistemologies and energy colonialism.