AIGUASOL is participating in the Technical Assistance for the Development of Energy Communities in the Cesar Mining Corridor project, an initiative promoted by the World Bank and Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy. The project aims to support a just energy transition in a region historically linked to coal mining.

This initiative forms part of the Colombian Government’s broader strategy to promote more participatory energy models based on renewable resources and aligned with sustainable territorial development.

A Territory in Transition

The Department of Cesar comprises 25 municipalities distributed across four subregions. Within this territory, the Cesar Mining Corridor encompasses five municipalities with a long-standing mining tradition: Agustín Codazzi, Becerril, El Paso, La Jagua de Ibirico and Chiriguaná.

This initiative is part of the Corredor de Vida Cesar strategy, which aims to promote participatory ecological restoration, productive diversification, and a just energy transition in a region shaped by decades of coal extraction.

While mining has long been a key economic driver for the region, it has also generated significant environmental challenges, including deforestation, biodiversity loss, and soil and water pollution, as well as social challenges such as economic inequality and adverse health impacts on local communities.

Energy Communities as a Driver of Change

The development of energy communities is one of the cornerstones of Colombia’s national strategy to reduce dependence on coal while fostering a more democratic, resilient, and sustainable energy system.

Within this framework, the project aims to support local communities and municipal governments in developing collective energy initiatives based on locally available renewable energy resources.

The initiatives are currently at the conceptual stage. The technical assistance focuses on supporting municipalities, artisanal fishing associations, aquaculture organisations (tilapia farming), and complementary agricultural initiatives in their transition towards formally established energy communities that are eligible to access public funding.

Project Objectives

The technical assistance pursues four main objectives:

• Prioritise energy community projects that were not initially selected for implementation by identifying those with the greatest development potential.
• Provide comprehensive technical, organisational, and financial support to local communities, maximising the number of projects eligible for funding from the Government of Colombia.
• Assess how municipalities can promote energy communities through public infrastructure, including the rooftops of educational facilities and sports centres.
• Develop supporting materials and learning activities for both the technical staff of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and the World Bank, as well as for the participating communities, fostering knowledge exchange and capacity building.

Scope of the Technical Assistance

The project includes the assessment and support of Energy Community initiatives promoted by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and participating municipalities across the territory.

The technical assistance comprises:

• Regulatory and governance analysis, assessing organisational models and the applicable regulatory framework for each initiative.
• Technical feasibility studies, including the assessment of community energy demand and the availability of local renewable energy resources.
• Economic and financial assessments to ensure the medium- and long-term sustainability of the proposed projects.
• Knowledge transfer and dissemination of results through continuous collaboration with the Ministry and The World Bank teams throughout the project, as well as the preparation of tailored technical reports for each community and municipality, aimed at strengthening local capacities for the development, implementation, and management of Energy Communities.

Advancing Participatory Energy Models

Energy Communities represent a key opportunity for local territories to actively participate in the transformation of the energy system while generating social, economic, and environmental benefits at the local level.

This project will help lay the foundations for new models of energy production and governance within the Cesar Mining Corridor, strengthening local capacities to advance towards greater energy autonomy and more sustainable territorial development.

Overall, the project has enabled the assessment of eight Energy Community initiatives across the Corredor de Vida Cesar—covering both community-owned sites and municipal infrastructure—and confirmed their technical, economic, and environmental feasibility, provided that adequate institutional support and project-specific public funding mechanisms are in place.

The outcomes not only provide a clear roadmap for advancing these initiatives towards implementation but also establish a replicable methodological framework that the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the World Bank can apply to future projects. In doing so, the project strengthens the role of Energy Communities as a key instrument for delivering a just energy transition in territories historically dependent on coal.

Aiguasol’s participation in this initiative reinforces our commitment to a just energy transition, the democratisation of energy, and sustainable territorial development.