There are more than 420 renewable energy projects that already have the guarantee of the Upme. The renewable energy market is becoming stronger in the country. Of the 613 non-protocol projects that have been registered since 2016, there are already at least 425 initiatives that have the endorsement of the Mining-Energy Planning Unit (Upme), the entity that is in charge of the expansion plan of this type of energy and which already has the schedule of the next long-term auction ready for October.
Although
large energy projects are still on the table in the Atlantic, La
Guajira, El Cesar and Boyacá, the most recent Upme report details that
90% of all permit initiatives are solar. This is because the 425 383 are
of this type; 17 are small hydroelectric plants; 12 are wind power; 11
of biomass and only one geothermal.
“The great increase that has been
seen in this business is due to the costs of these energies that have
decreased significantly in the world, are competitive and therefore are
changed into an important alternative. That is why there are many people
interested in developing projects with renewables, ”said Germán
Corredor, executive director of the Renewable Energy Association (SER
Colombia).The
reduction of costs for the implementation of this type of energy in
industry, households and the sector has generated that Valle del Cauca,
Antioquia and Bogotá today have the largest number of projects with
endorsement. In fact, the southwestern department of the country has 63,
followed by the paisa territory, with 49, and the capital of the
country, with 38.
These three departments are followed by Atlántico and Cundinamarca, which reach 32 projects equally in both territories. Although in general the majority of initiatives have a low capacity, between 0 to 1 megawatts, the Upme ensures that La Guajira concentrates the highest generation in the country with 1,716 megawatts in total.
“There are some departments with a very high potential in wind energy such as La Guajira, and in solar energy the Meta and the Caribbean Coast are projected with high potential in the medium term. The outlook is positive, because in the medium term (2031) these sources will become 15% of the country’s energy matrix, ”explained Carlos Alberto Zarruk Gómez, executive president of the Colombian Chamber of Energy.
