The quarter of an hour that Colombia lives in terms of renewable energies, allows it to be on the world radar to be a focus in order to make investments in the development of complexes for the generation of clean electricity.
(With the project and auction, the ‘offshore’ wind farms begin).
Proof of this are the multinationals asking for a clue to enter the country and whose representatives were present at the fifth Latam Renewables and Distributed Resources Meeting and Fair, an event that ends today in the city of Barranquilla.
And such is the importance of the country in the global context in the development of renewable energies that, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Colombia ranks 15th among 115 countries in the incorporation of renewable energies to the matrix.
“In 2021, investments of US$800 million arrived in Colombia for the development of wind and solar energy projects. Thus, the country contributed the second highest investment of this type in history with respect to the countries of the region”, said Diego Mesa, Minister of Mines and Energy.
(Collector line already has the endorsement of 136 communities in the Sierra Nevada).
The official stressed that “The flag of Colombia has been positioned as an attractive destination in renewables. Wind and solar projects in the region drove investments of US$19.6 billion, almost $1 billion in Colombia”.
In addition, Colombia ranks fifth in the region as the nation with the highest investment in projects related to clean energy, surpassed in order by Peru, Mexico, Chile and Brazil.
When inquiring with foreign companies interested in developing clean energy generation complexes, they did not hesitate to point out that the geographical conditions, the clear rules of the game and legal certainty make the country an attractive place to invest in the development of complexes for the production of renewable energy.
“In addition to entering Colombia, we will seek an expansion of our company in this country. There are coincidences in the development of technologies that allow the production of electricity and guarantee its stability, such as biomass plants and battery storage systems”said David Del Mastro, president, CEO and founder of Deltro Group.
This Canadian company, whose sustainable processes are synchronized with the country’s energy transition policies.
“We are used to the incorporation processes in Latin American countries. A time span of five years was initially plotted, but was eventually shortened to 2.5 years. This is due to the accompaniment of the Colombian state to begin the assembly of the complexes”, Del Master said.
(With 12 projects, the country diversifies its energy matrix).
In the same sense, Manuel Tagle, General Manager Latam of the Irish multinational Mainstream Renewable Power, pointed out that, “We made the decision to enter Colombia for three reasons. The first, the real commitment of the country to diversify its energy matrix, encouraging the development of renewables. Second, it is the rapid regulatory and technological adaptation to global changes that the Colombian electricity sector has shown, which is mature. And third, the interest in contributing to the development of green hydrogen and offshore wind energy projects”.
Another of the variables that come into play and that make the country attractive in terms of renewable energy development is the profitability that it leaves for investment companies.
That is the case of Solargis, a company based in Bratislava (Czech Republic) that develops software that monitors the behavior of the climate and that is coupled to the control systems of wind and solar complexes.
“The cost of photovoltaic energy has been reduced considerably, even more so if the level of radiation grows, and in Colombia the rates to the end user will present a profit to the companies that develop these clean generation complexes”, said Samuel Suri, director for business development of the European company.
The business leader stressed that Colombia will be attractive for companies that carry out the assembly of wind and solar plants since it has resources that make investments a profitable return in profits.
Recently, at the culmination of the 2022 Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD), the Minister of Mines and Energy, Diego Mesa, managed to guarantee an investment of more than US$700 million to be made by the firm BayWar.e, in solar energy projects in Colombia.
“This German company with which we had already had contact seven months ago has a list of solar projects with an installed capacity of 600 megawatts (MW) to develop in the coming years,” the official said.
Another company that has already expressed its interest in the country is also German, Goldbeck Solar, whose president, Joachim Goldbeck, will produce green hydrogen.
ALFONSO LOPEZ SUAREZ
BARRANQUILLA, ATLANTIC
