Renewable energy vs. cultural preservation - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 128

Not surprisingly, the BLM and other government agencies seeking
to promote renewable energy on public lands tend to take a somewhat
different view of the consultation requirement. From their perspective,
their duty to consult with tribes is not an obligation to terminate or amend
proposed development plans on off-reservation lands based on tribal input.
Nothing in the NHPA or its implementing regulations is “meant to suggest
federal agencies must acquiesce to every tribal request.” 53 Thus, as a BLM
spokeswoman speaking about the Ocotillo Express Wind Project explained
in connection with that project, NHPA's consultation requirement “doesn't
necessarily require agreement all of the time.” 54
Somewhere between these rival interpretations of the NHPA's consultation
requirement there exists an optimal middle ground—a level of respect for
tribal concerns that efficiently and fairly balances the competing interests
of renewable energy development and cultural preservation. Unfortunately,
because inquiries into what constitutes an adequate consultation under
NHPA can be very fact-specific, the struggle to find this balance is likely
to continue to play out in courts well into the future. In the face of this
uncertainty, developers of energy projects on public U.S. lands would be
wise to reach out early and often in the planning stages to all indigenous
groups whose cultural resources may be affected by their projects. The
shrewdest of developers recognize the value of meticulously documenting
their efforts to engage with and genuinely address the concerns of affected
tribes throughout the planning and development process.
Wind farms vs. indigenous groups in southern Mexico
Although clashes between renewable energy development and Indian tribes
in the United States tend to garner more media attention, similar conflicts
are increasingly arising outside of the United States as well. On occasion,
Indian tribes in Canada have taken aim at proposed wind energy projects
based on their potential impacts on cultural resources. 55 As the following
paragraphs describe, struggles between wind energy developers and indig-
enous groups are also arising south of the U.S. border. Although legal
landscapes vary from nation to nation, the basic challenges and questions
in these conflicts are largely the same: to what extent should laws restrict
renewable energy development to protect the cultural heritage and interests
of indigenous peoples?
Tensions between renewable energy and indigenous groups have been
boiling for several years along the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the southern
Mexican state of Oaxaca—a region renowned for its prime wind energy
resources. The area has long been called “La Ventosa,” which is Spanish for
“The Windy.” 56 This narrow strip of land separating the Pacific Ocean and
the Gulf of Mexico has been described as a global “wind hotspot” 57 and
as “one of the windiest places on Earth.” 58 As of late 2012, the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec was home to at least 14 wind energy projects and more than