Photovoltaic technological developments to generate energy will make the Colombian Caribbean the main recipient of FNCER non-conventional energy source projects in 2024.
A report by SER Colombia, a union that brings together companies in the energy sector, has identified that for this year 13 photovoltaic projects out of 22, which are in development, undergoing tests and aim to complete stages, will enter the market to contribute to the national Interconnection system. (SIN) 1,147 (MW) megawatts.
The report called Renewables 2024 1,240 MW close to starting operation and 1,800 MW more on the horizon, Colombia is moving towards a greener future specifies that of the 22 initiatives, based on transforming solar energy, 83% are located in the Caribbean region.
For the supply that the country needs to increase and whose matrix is based on water generation is 60%, these photovoltaic technologies will add to the non-conventional sources that the country has in the system and will weigh 9%.
In 2023, 25 solar projects came into operation to complete 2,081 MW in generation and increasing the installed capacity by 70% in previous years. Non-conventional energy sources (Fncer) provide energy to the SIN with a capacity of 505 MW at the end of last year.
This megawatt capacity allows us to meet the consumption equivalent to a city the size of Bucaramanga.
The projects in the Colombian Caribbean are in the departments of Atlántico, Cesar, Córdoba, Sucre, Magdalena and Bolívar.
The Guayepo I and II Solar Park located in Palmar de Varela, Atlántico is the largest project in the country and last December it already carried out the first injection of kilowatt hours into the National Interconnected System.
Operated by Enel Green Power, a business line of Enel Colombia, this company explained through a spokesperson that a testing stage began in which all the plant systems are calibrated so that it can reach its maximum declared capacity. “In this way, gradually with the construction progress, the aim is for the power to increase until the net effective capacity of the project is reached. This stage will also ensure that the plant operates within the regulatory standards required in the country to guarantee the reliability and security in the system and later, once this process and all construction is completed, enter into commercial operation.”
The park is in a construction phase of more than 60%, with an investment of more than 290 million dollars, Guayepo I&II will cover an area of more than 1,110 hectares (ha) and will have more than 820,600 solar panels installed and interconnected.
The generating capacity will be on average 1,030 GWh/year, which represents electrical energy for more than 1,460,000 people, a figure close to the equivalent of the population of Barranquilla.
The SER Colombia survey, carried out at the end of 2023, which included the participation of 45 companies associated with the union, visualizes a broad portfolio of projects. In addition to the 22 upcoming projects, 44 more initiatives were identified that are in early stages of development, most of them with pending procedures.
The 2024 portfolio totals 66 projects, 3,040 MW of new capacity, including projects in testing, under construction and in development contingent on procedures. The SER highlights that there is “evidence of clear interest from companies in carrying out an important portfolio of projects in Colombia, with an investment close to $2.2002 million dollars.”
