Colombia's regional utility Air-e launches private wind, solar auction

Colombian regional power distributor and retailer Air-e on Thursday launched its own renewable energy auction in an effort to award contracts for at least 300 MW of wind and solar capacity.

The company said it will be offering power purchase agreements (PPAs) ranging from 15 to 20 years. It said its goal is to supply competitively priced electricity from non-conventional renewable energy sources to consumers in its service area and cover at least 20% of its commercial demand with renewables in 2025.

Air-e serves customers in Colombia’s coastal departments of Atlantico, La Guajira and Magdalena.

The preliminary terms and conditions guiding the auction were released on Thursday. By November 5, the definitive terms are due to come out.

Air-e will start receiving bids in November, and expects to finalise the award process by the end of December 2021.

Air-e general manager Jhon Jairo Toro told Colombian media on Thursday that his company has demand for around 8,480 GWh per year. Air-e’s auction is meant to enable the company source at least 10% of its annual demand, about 850 GWh per year, the media outlets reported.

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