'Energy Communities' Bring Electricity, Livelihoods to Colombia's Remotest Regions

The report describes Colombia's 'Energy Communities' program, launched in 2023 under the National Development Plan 2022-2026, which empowers off-grid rural, Indigenous, and Afro-Colombian communities to manage their own renewable energy production and distribution to reduce energy poverty and foster local economic growth.

• The Energy Communities program aims to provide electricity to rural areas where approximately 1.9 million people lacked reliable power as of 2020 due to the high costs of extending the national grid. The program prioritizes applications based on energy needs, social inclusion, and geographic vulnerability, with special consideration for Afro-Colombian and Indigenous populations.
• The program utilizes a model of community-led management supported by government funding for installation and operation, as well as tax incentives including VAT exemptions, import duty exemptions, and income tax deductions. As of October 2024, there were approximately 100 active energy communities across Colombia.
• Implementation of these energy systems has directly supported local livelihoods: in Mingueo, solar power enables the charging of electric motorcycles and the retrofitting of gasoline engines; in Natagaima, the Tamirco community uses solar power for fish farm pumps, refrigeration, and lighting; and in the La Plata Archipelago, a 2025 hybrid mini-grid provides 24-hour power to four communities and stand-alone systems to 40 households.
• Scaling the model faces several challenges, including insufficient training periods (some cited three months as too short), a lack of sustained long-term financing for maintenance, and institutional barriers caused by poor communication between local and national governments and conflicting mandates between environmental and energy authorities.

APA

World Resources Institute (2025). 'Energy Communities' Bring Electricity, Livelihoods to Colombia's Remotest Regions. https://www.wri.org/insights/colombia-energy-communities-bring-electricity-income

Chicago

World Resources Institute. 'Energy Communities' Bring Electricity, Livelihoods to Colombia's Remotest Regions. 2025. https://www.wri.org/insights/colombia-energy-communities-bring-electricity-income.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title='Energy Communities' Bring Electricity, Livelihoods to Colombia's Remotest Regions |date=3 September 2025 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/colombia-energy-communities-bring-electricity-income |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2025energy, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{'Energy Communities' Bring Electricity, Livelihoods to Colombia's Remotest Regions}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/colombia-energy-communities-bring-electricity-income}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }