During the winters of each year, around 7'000,000 Peruvians are vulnerable to dying from malnutrition and respiratory diseases, caused by cold waves that exceed -20 °C. This climatological situation, aggravated by the effects of Climate Change, is more intensely noticeable in the peasant communities of the south of Peru settled at more than 3,500 meters of altitude. Furthermore, it has been identified that the cold affects more than 100,000 hectares of land, causing the destruction of crops and the annual death of more than 25,000 alpacas due to starvation and cold, resources that are the main economic source of the peasant communities located in the regions of Cusco, Puno, and Tacna. Paradoxically, the aforementioned locations have unmatched wealth linked to the variety of minerals found in their territory, which encourages large-scale mining activity. Additionally, these regions benefit from an average solar potential of 7 kWh/m2 and from hosting one of the largest geothermal deposits in the world in their subsoil. Nevertheless, the abundance of diverse natural resources does not mean that the poorest sectors of these regions have a safe and quality electricity supply, much less that sustainable heating reaches their homes. This situation is further postponed due to the limited study that Peru has on its geothermal resources (studies stopped in 2018) and the weak public-private partnerships to work in favor of sustainable innovation and social inclusion. Fortunately, international efforts to extend green financial benefits, such as the Green Climate Fund and the United Kingdom Government, and the climate policies currently being implemented by Peru's most emblematic mining corporations could make way for renewable energy resources in the south of Peru be exploited for the benefit of these communities today located in a situation of climatic vulnerability. This is the case of the Pucamarca gold project, belonging to the MINSUR corporation, which, after 10 years of mining production, is looking for new economic and sustainable activities that are conducive to mine closure. These activities must remedy the environmental impact generated by mining production, generate economic profitability, and maintain social ties with the communities in the south of Tacna that, although they are blessed by energy resources from the sun and the heat of the Earth's interior, they face the severity of the cold every year. For this reason, the "Pucamarca Forever" project seeks to analyze the feasibility of installing solar and geothermal energy on MINSUR properties. This proposal is conceived as an economic alternative after mine closure, which makes it possible to maintain labor and fraternity ties with the communities and allows a fair energy transition possible. Therefore, this project aims to position itself as a future scientific incubator, where mining makes way for research into new energy sources for heating that will alleviate current climate vulnerability and promote an energy security policy.
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