Colombia. Isagen's Guajira I project has been rated as the largest wind farm in Colombia and the first to be built in more than 17 years in the country, after Jepírachi came into operation in April 2004.
This project located in the north of the country, was inaugurated by the President of the Republic, Iván Duque, in the company of the Minister of Mines and Energy, Diego Mesa. The project, whose construction ended in December 2021, has 10 wind turbines 78 meters high, with a capacity for the generation of 20MW of clean energy, which is equivalent to the consumption of 33,295 Colombian families and a reduction of 136 tons of CO2. In addition, Guajira I promoted the economic and social development of the department, with the generation of more than 50 jobs and investments close to $75,000 million pesos.
"Three years ago in our country there were 28 MW of installed capacity of non-conventional renewable energies. This government decided to stimulate these sources of generation, to bring clean energy to our country. Today, thanks to the collaboration between the public and private sectors, we now have more than 2,800 MW between completed, executed and allocated projects, 100 times more than we had in August 2018, "said the President of the Republic, Iván Duque Márquez.
Colombia is consolidated as one of the countries with the greatest progress in the Energy Transition. The country has 17 solar farms, two wind farms, 10 large-scale self-generation projects and more than 2,500 small-scale self-generation photovoltaic solar projects, which will avoid the emission of 907,500 tons of CO2 per year.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Diego Mesa, highlighted the continuity of the Energy Transition policy that, with an attractive fiscal and regulatory framework, and the determination of the Colombian electricity sector, has allowed the country to take advantage of its full potential for the generation of renewable energies from non-conventional sources with large-scale projects such as Guajira I.
"In addition to our legacy for the present and future of Colombia, the Energy Transition is synonymous with equity and development for the country and the regions. Today we announce a new project with which we will bring the electricity service to the 132 indigenous communities of Lanshalia, Mushalerain and Taruasarudel that live in the area of influence of Guajira I, with an investment that exceeds $1,340 million pesos, "explained Minister Mesa.
The National Government said that in the last four years it has brought for the first time the electricity service to 3,348 families in the department of La Guajira, and new rural electrification projects are currently advancing, which will bring this essential service to 12,000 additional families.
La Guajira is the epicenter of the Energy Transition
Due to its privileged geographical location, La Guajira has great potential for the generation of energy with non-conventional renewable sources. The wind speed in the department is twice the world average and the radiation is 60% higher than that recorded worldwide.
Thanks to the Energy Transition policy, La Guajira will have 16 wind farms, with investments estimated at $10 billion pesos and the generation of approximately 11,000 jobs, which will promote Sustainable Reactivation and diversification of Colombia's energy matrix.
During his visit to the department, the President of the Republic and his entourage visited the facilities of Puerto Brisa where, on the Pacific Harmony and Star Loen ships, 182 of the 990 components that will be part of the Alpha and Beta wind farms that the EDPR company will build in the municipalities of Maicao and Uribia arrived.
Alpha will have an installed capacity of 121 MW and will have 39 wind turbines, while Beta will have 51 wind turbines and an installed capacity of 280 MW. Between the two parks, the installed capacity amounts to 492 MW, which corresponds to the energy consumption of 819,000 families and will help reduce one million tons of CO2 per year.
Construction of Alpha and Beta will be completed in the second half of 2022 and commercial operation of both parks is expected to begin in the first half of 2023. These projects required investments of more than $1 billion and will directly impact more than 72 communities in the region.
