Colombia awards 800MW of solar in third renewables auction

Colombia has awarded contracts to 11 solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 796.3MW in its third renewable energy auction.
The winning projects are backed by 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) and are required to be operational from January 2023.
Average winning bids in the auction yesterday (26 October) were COP155.8/kWh (US$0.0414/kWh), according to Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, which said the 11 PV plants will support 4,800 jobs across the country.
“The success of this new auction shows that the energy transition in Colombia is a reality,” said Minister of Mines and Energy Diego Mesa.
Around 1,365MW of solar and wind projects that were awarded contracts in a 2019 auction are now said to be under construction across Colombia.
The clean energy ramp-up comes as Colombia aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030. Mesa said earlier this year that the country will have more than 2.8GW of deployed renewables by the end of 2022.