The Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy announced that up to 1 GW of renewable energy generation capacity may be allocated. The competition will be open to solar, wind and biomass projects exceeding 10 MW in size.

Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has issued the call for its first auction for large-scale renewable energy projects.

Through the technology-neutral auction the Colombian government will select solar, wind and biomass projects with a capacity of over 10 MW. The auction, which will be managed by Colombia’s national mining and energy planning unit UPME, will be held in January 2019 and will offer 10-year PPAs. Selected projects will have to start delivering power as of December 2022, while total allocated power production should amount to approximately 3,443 GW per year, which would correspond to about 1 GW of capacity, the Colombian government said in its statement.

“This government was, is and will be the government that promoted the energy transition towards a sustainable energy mix, adaptable to climate change, and that provides security in the power supply. In this way, the country will continue advancing in the fulfillment of the commitments of COP21 and of the sustainable development targets which will guarantee the country’s energy sustainability in the medium and long term,” said the Minister of Mines and Energy, Germán Arce Zapata.

No more details on how the auction will be further implemented were provided.

Colombia is currently turning to solar and renewables in order to diversify its electricity mix, which is largely dependent on hydropower. In March, the government published the Decreto 348 del 1 de marzo de 2017, a new legislation to support the installation of small and medium-sized renewable energy and solar power generators across the country.

From: EMILIANO BELLINI