Colombia

PV initiatives should be designed to last, as several well-meaning off-grid solar projects for the developing world have floundered over the years.

The Colombian authorities assigned 7.49 GW of renewable energy projects in the nation’s latest procurement exercise.

pv magazine publisher, Eckhart Gouras, interviewed Diego Mesa, the Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy at the BNEF Summit in New York. Mesa recounted the history of solar PV adoption in his country and provided details on the most recent developments, including the construction of Colombia’s largest solar park by Italian group Enel and the first large scale battery project by Canadian Solar.

Empresas Públicas de Medellín is seeking engineering, procurement, and construction specialists to work on an 83MW solar plant in Colombia. The project secured a 15-year power purchase agreement in the nation’s latest auction and is scheduled to go online by Jan. 1, 2023.

Among the selected developers were EDF, Canadian Solar, Solarpack, Enel and Celsia. The final average price for the PV technology was significantly higher than that of the previous procurement exercise.

The 61 MW solar facility is owned by Colombian oil company Ecopetrol.

With pressure mounting on the world’s governments to turn their back on the fossil fuel, China and peers in South East Asia, Europe and South Asia could help deliver a coal-free future at the COP26 climate summit planned in Glasgow in November.

State-owned China Xinhua Power Development has booked a $53 million discount on seven solar farms as developer Kongsun seeks to pay down debts, and Canadian Solar has landed a 45 MWh energy storage contract in Colombia.

Projects not exceeding 5 MW in size will be entitled to participate in the procurement exercise. Selected developers will be granted a 15-year PPA and will have to start commercial operation on January 1, 2023.

Project selected in the auctions will be granted a 15-year PPA and will have to begin delivering power in December 2022.