Colombia's Schrader Camargo eyes solar growth

Colombian engineering and construction firm Schrader Camargo is sharpening its focus on non-conventional renewable energy as efforts to wean the country off fossil fuels gather pace. 

The company's project portfolio currently includes the 360MW Puerta de Oro solar park in Cundinamarca department while six other photovoltaic developments are on its radar, general manager Andrés Canela told BNamericas on Wednesday. 

"We believe that we will be a very relevant player in the area of non-conventional projects," Canela said in a telephone interview. 

Four of the six projects for which Schrader Camargo intends to bid are earmarked for installed capacity beyond 150MW while two others are slated for 100-150MW. Another two have proposed capacity below 50MW. 

"We hope that at least two of these projects can be built by us," Canela said. "We have already been working with clients [developers] to be their ally in the construction process."

Canela said Schrader Camargo has participated in more than half of the latest 3GW to enter operations in Colombia. 

And while its current project portfolio is headed by the second phase of EPM's 2.4GW Hidroituango plant in Antioquia department, the company intends to be a major player in the burgeoning solar segment. 

"We have rethought a continuous improvement scheme, which focuses on how the entire operation of building solar parks can be improved and how the process could be optimized, especially the timeframes and costs," Canela said. 

"And we have found that the opportunities are huge. We're looking to be able to transfer that to our clients and we're optimistic that these best practices that we're managing to bring will have a positive impact on the projects. And that is not only from the point of view of costs, but also the certainty about the [completion] dates."

The full interview with Canela will be published in the coming days.