Solar projects for 796.3 MW win in Colombia's renewables auction

Colombia’s third renewable energy auction finalised on Tuesday with power purchase agreements (PPAs) going to 11 solar projects representing 796.3 MW of combined capacity.

Nine project promoters won the opportunity to close 15-year PPAs with 53 power off-takers, which secured solar energy for a weighted average price of COP 155 (USD 0.041/EUR 0.035) per kWh, the ministry of mining and energy said.

The nine winners are EDF Renewables, Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ), TW Solar, Solarpack Corporacion Tecnologica SA (BME:SPK), Genersol SAS, Enel Green Power, Celsia SA, Empresas Publicas de Medellin ESP (EPM) and Urra SA ESP, energy minister Diego Mesa announced at the press conference after the auction.

Mesa also noted that the average price in this auction round was higher compared to what was achieved in the 2019 auction, but it was still 15% below the market price. He attributed the price difference to the context in 2019 and 2021, saying that the market today faces challenges in the logistics chain, higher freight costs and supply shortages.

The winning projects are expected to bring an investment of around COP 3.3 trillion (USD 874.8m/EUR 754.4m), create some 4,800 jobs in nine departments that will host them and contribute to reactivating Colombia’s economy, the ministry added.

The winning solar projects have to start meeting their PPA obligations from January 2023.

(COP 1,000 = USD 0.265/EUR 0.229)

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