London, United Kingdom | October 19, 2026
TERRΛ SITE I, the first phase of TERRΛ INITIΛTIVE, a clean energy project co-developed by the Arhuaco People and Greenwood Energy in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, has won ESG Renewable Energy Deal of the Year, Latin America at the 2026 Infra Global ESG Awards.
Organized by Green Street, the Infra Global ESG Awards—formerly known as the IJGlobal ESG Awards—recognize environmental, social and governance achievements across the global energy and infrastructure sectors. An international jury of energy and infrastructure professionals selects winners across the awards’ company, transaction and individual categories.
The ceremony took place on October 8 at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, bringing together more than 200 leaders from across the global renewable energy industry. This year’s awards recognized international institutions and companies including HSBC Holdings, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Macquarie Asset Management, TotalEnergies, and Cubico Sustainable Investments.
Greenwood Energy was represented at the ceremony by executives from its parent company, Libra Group, including Chief Operating Officer Manos Kouligkas and Vice President of Infrastructure Mauricio Justiniano. They attended alongside key financing partners: Rafael Herz, President of Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN); and Susan Ward, Partner and Chief Risk Officer, and Antonio Garate, Head of Asset Management, of ImpactA Global.
Guido Patrignani, Chairman of Greenwood Energy and co-founder of TERRΛ INITIΛTIVE, said: “TERRΛ reflects years of work by people across disciplines and cultures who share a belief that clean energy can help protect the land and create opportunity. This recognition belongs to all of them, especially the Arhuaco People and our financing and technical partners, whose leadership and commitment made this first phase possible.”
The award recognizes TERRΛ SITE I as an example of how clean energy infrastructure can combine financial viability with meaningful environmental and social impact through a co-development model with an Indigenous community. The project reached financial close in December 2025, with COP 163 billion (approximately $50 million) in project financing from FDN, complemented by catalytic capital from ImpactA Global.
This milestone was made possible through coordinated efforts among Greenwood Energy’s teams, the financing institutions, and their legal and technical advisors, Mendoza Abogados and G-advisory. TERRΛ SITE I is the first project of its scale in Latin America to reach financial close through a partnership between an energy developer and an Indigenous community.
Mamu Kuncha, responsible for the Kankurwa of Seykúmuke and spiritual leader of the Arhuaco People, explained the initiative’s significance from the Arhuaco perspective: “TERRΛ INITIΛTIVE is a development model rooted in the deepest principles of the Arhuaco worldview. It brings ancestral wisdom into practice through a long-term vision for caring for our Mother Earth, SEYNEKUN—the place where the energy of the universe pulses and radiates through all living beings and celestial bodies. We believe this initiative can help strengthen cultural knowledge, spiritual traditions, and self-governance in this territory, known as the Heart of the World. From our own perspective, the Arhuaco People believe in the possibility of bringing together the ancestral knowledge of Indigenous peoples and modern approaches to development to help protect life on our planet. There is room for all of us, and each of us has a responsibility to contribute through our own knowledge, building mutual respect and trust for the benefit of future generations. Brothers and sisters around the world, from the Heart of the World, we invite you to understand life through other visions of development.”
Across its three phases, TERRΛ INITIΛTIVE plans to develop solar plants with a total capacity of 156 MWp, to be connected to the national electricity grid, as well as three new traditional Indigenous villages in the lower-lying areas of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, designed to host more than 1,200 members of the Arhuaco People.
In addition to providing technical training and skilled employment opportunities for the community, the model incorporates an Environmental Fee for every kilowatt-hour of electricity sold. The fee will support an Arhuaco-managed land acquisition fund intended to help recover more than 100,000 hectares of their ancestral territory. After 25 years of operation, the energy assets will be transferred to the community, which will then receive all revenues from electricity sales to expand the scope of its land acquisition program.
TERRΛ SITE I comprises the platform’s first two solar plants, with a combined capacity of 52 MWp, and TERRΛ’s first Indigenous village, The Star of Dawn, designed to accommodate more than 400 members of the Arhuaco People. Both are under construction in the municipality of El Copey, Cesar. The solar plants will connect to the El Copey substation through an 11-kilometer, double-circuit transmission line operating at 34.5 kV.
Rafael Herz, President of FDN, stated: “TERRΛ SITE I brings together elements that FDN considers fundamental when financing a project: financial strength, a tangible contribution to the energy transition, and environmental and social benefits for the surrounding area and its communities. This recognition is particularly meaningful because it demonstrates that these dimensions can be incorporated into a financing structure without compromising rigor or viability. For FDN, this outcome validates an approach to infrastructure financing in which sustainability and financial strength are equally important.”
TERRΛ SITE I exemplifies the Greenwood Model, an approach to community co-development that Greenwood Energy has developed and refined over seven years through projects such as ΛLMΛ MΛTER in Panama and TERRΛ INITIΛTIVE in Colombia. The model integrates community engagement, environmental and social priorities, and financial structuring from the outset, with the goal of creating energy projects that deliver value beyond electricity generation. By aligning the interests of local communities, project developers, and institutional investors, it can strengthen local legitimacy, facilitate access to institutional capital, and create lasting opportunities for the communities where projects operate.
Victoria Miles, co-CEO and CIO of ImpactA Global, commented: “This award is a well-deserved recognition of the vision, commitment and collaboration that brought TERRΛ SITE I to life. We are incredibly proud to have played a role in financing a project that is not only delivering clean energy but also establishing a powerful model for community co-creation and shared prosperity. We congratulate Greenwood Energy, the Arhuaco People and all partners involved, and we hope TERRΛ inspires a new generation of infrastructure projects that place communities at the heart of development.”
In 2019, the Arhuaco People and Greenwood Energy’s co-founders met in Nabusimake around a shared question: Could clean energy help protect ancestral lands and support community development? TERRΛ INITIΛTIVE grew from that conversation. Its first phase now offers a model in which the community helps shape the project and shares in its long-term benefits. We thank the Arhuaco People for their leadership, partnership and trust; FDN and ImpactA Global for helping finance this first phase; and the teams at Greenwood Energy, Nitro Energy, OTACC, the legal and technical advisers, and the national, departmental and municipal authorities whose work has brought it forward.
TERRΛ reflects a shared conviction that clean energy can help protect the land and create lasting opportunity for the Arhuaco People.