Adaptation to broken climate change mitigation: Exploring social and economic impacts of solar mini-grid electrification in Colombian island communities

Abstract

Access to reliable electricity remains a central challenge for rural and island communities across the Global South. While solar mini-grids are widely promoted as tools for reducing energy poverty and supporting lowcarbon transitions, their long-term social consequences, particularly under conditions of unreliable service, remain insufficiently understood. This study examines the social and economic impacts of mini-grid electrification in three Colombian island communities: Isla Fuerte, Isla Múcura, and Santa Cruz del Islote. Drawing on interviews, focus groups, and census and administrative data, the analysis traces changes in cultural practices, entrepreneurship, gender roles, education, and healthcare. Findings show uneven and conditional development outcomes. Electrification expanded access to modern technologies and supported growth in tourism-related and small-scale businesses. Women gained new income opportunities, and modest improvements occurred in education and health services. However, declining reliability, high operating costs, and limited technical capacity undermined system performance over time. As reliability declined, communities adapted through private diesel generators and informal electricity-sharing networks, increasing costs and reinforcing inequalities. These dynamics constitute what this paper conceptualizes as adaptation to broken mitigation: when renewable energy interventions designed to reduce fossil fuel dependence fail to deliver reliable service, communities reorganize socially and economically to cope with persistent energy insecurity. The findings demonstrate that electrification alone cannot achieve broader development objectives. Sustainable mini-grid transitions require reliable system design, long-term governance capacity, and coordinated investments in social infrastructure