New regulation must be put in place to pave the way for the energy transition in Colombia to address issues that will challenge the project development phase such as environmental licensing, grid connection and integration, local project financing and long-term industrial planning must continue to be addressed by the industry and policymakers to ensure that these projects can develop efficiently to deliver clean and competitive energy for all Colombians.
In order to take a closer look at these and other issues, national and international experts from government and industry recently met in Bogotá for Colombia Wind Power 2019 to assess the most important challenges in the sector moving forward. Organized by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and SER Colombia, this one-day event sought to generate a dialogue around the most important issues that impact the development of wind power projects in the country.
“The international context of necessary acceleration of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions along with the maturity of wind power technology and its competitiveness in energy markets globally have been strong drivers to set up renewable energy targets in Colombia. These targets will be crucial to support the country's energy policy frameworks to increase energy efficiency, diversify the security of energy supply and ensure universal access to electricity for all Colombians,” said Julián Zuluaga, Head of Office for Regulatory and Business Affairs at the Ministry of Mines and Energy Colombia.
“Green growth in Colombia is becoming a priority for the country. In the country's first renewable energy auction last month, the winning projects will generate more than $ 2.2 billion in investment over the next three years.” commented Ramón Fiestas, Chair of the Latin American Committee of the Global Wind Energy Council.
Colombia Wind Power 2019 featured the participation of high-level sector authorities, regulation experts and companies from the wind power sector. Topics discussed at the event included both the government and industry perspective on the auction, local project financing, immediate challenges for project development, medium and long-term plans for grid connection and integration of renewables into the energy system as well as an update on Colombia’s ‘Mision de Transformacion’.
