Agricultural Land and Renewable Energy: Case Study Pattern Energy Inc. in Santa Isabel

Abstract

In Puerto Rico between the months of July and December 2010, laws and executive orders were created to expedite renewable energy projects, create an emergency state, and permit the installation of wind energy projects in high-valued agricultural areas of Puerto Rico. One of these projects was the Santa Isabel Wind Farm. Individuals, groups, and organizations preoccupied with the impact that the project would have on agricultural activities in the area reacted by organizing and creating Frente de Rescate Agrícola (FRA). The promotors of the project assured that the project would not impact the natural resources nor the agricultural activities of the zone, and that the consumer energy cost would be lowered. To date, 44 wind turbines occupy a 3,500 cuerdas of agricultural lands in Santa Isabel, and epitomizes the lack of recognition for the value of agricultural lands in Puerto Rico. To date, there has not been a reduction in the consumer energy cost and the job generation has been insignificant. The wind turbines have transformed the landscape into an industrial one and hundredths of high-valued agricultural lands, and the impact on other natural resources and on agricultural field workers that work under the turbines. This article will describe the citizen participation in the process of approving the project, its fast-track implementation and implications on the agricultural activities of the area. We concur that there must be alternate renewable energy sources, but these projects cannot occur at the expense of the food security of the country.