Tierra Del Fuego, Chile, is two-thirds of the southernmost archipelago of South America, and on the brink of transformation. Separated from the mainland by the Straits of Magellan, the islands are home to ferocious winds, which have lead to proposals of massive wind farms, which in turn could lead to green hydrogen production that could be exported around the world.
Locals who are concerned about the possible change include ranchers who fear for the end of their century-old rural lifestyle and biologists who are worried about the fish and migratory birds who require a pristine ecosystem. On the side of development are property owners who foresee a large return on their historically economically tenuous land, and local politicians who hope the wind farms could lead to more jobs and hence more young people staying in the region.
A number of external bodies, such as the World Bank and HNH Energy, an Austrian-based company, are proponents of the proposed wind farms and their potential to decrease the carbon footprint of European countries with the production green hydrogen and other energy products. Among local concerns include the fear that these external forces are merely off-loading their environmental effects and that the majority of the benefits would leave the country, as has happened in the past with other extractive activities.
As Professor Klepeis and his co-authors note, "In coming years, Chile’s energy revolution may spark a new, greener world, but risks throwing salt in the wound of the region’s painful past."
The original article was written by Peter Klepeis, Professor of Geography at Colgate University, Keith Klepeis, Professor of Geography and Geosciences at the University of Vermont, Gabriela Mora-Klepeis, Senior Research Technician in the Department of Geography and Geosciences at the University of Vermont, and Jorge López Maldonado is a Técnico Forestal, expert in Geographic Information Systems, and consultant in Punta Arenas, Chile.