Transition process from fossil energy to photovoltaic energy power of ethnic communities belonging to the natural parks in the Colombian Pacific: A diagnostic study

For an energy transformation project with emerging technologies to be viable and sustainable, it requires community participation, the social appropriation of the knowledge of the technology to be implemented, and the assessment of its social and environmental impact. In this context, this research carried out a diagnostic study on the energy consumption of ethnic communities belonging to National Natural Parks in the Colombian Pacific in order to provide indicators of the potential and relevance of portable photovoltaic solar energy for small-scale energy supply in these communities. For this purpose, four strategic sites in the district of Buenaventura were selected to implement questionnaires to collect technical data on demographic characterization (age, occupation, ethnicity, educational level, residence time), solar exposure, architectural infrastructure, energy sources, use of electrical elements, and energy consumption. The study focused on five sectors of interest: (i) housing, (ii) microenterprises, (iii) schools, (iv) health centers, and (v) boats. Fuelwood and diesel were found to be the main sources of energy in the region; this represents continuous pollution of gases and noise. Electricity is supplied mainly through diesel power generators with a cost per kWh higher by 86% than the average value in the interconnected area. It was identified that the most representative economic activities of these communities are fishing, and other activities associated with tourism; therefore, after diagnosing the use of low-power electrical elements in different types of boats, we propose a portable photovoltaic solar system adjusted to local environmental conditions and the needs of artisanal fishing.