Coal remains important for energy security in Colombia, says industry group

Thermal coal will continue to be a reliable source of energy in Colombia in the short and medium term, for power generation and use in various industries, according to coal producers’ federation Fenalcarbón.

"While several countries have migrated from the use of fossil fuels to cleaner options, the majority of nations, especially in Europe, are focusing their energy back-up on nuclear power, which does not exist in Colombia, so the guarantee [of energy security] lies in the 8Bt of thermal coal reserves that exist in eight departments," Fenalcarbón president Carlos Cante told BNamericas.

According to Cante, last year thermal and metallurgical coal, along with coke, generated close to 8.7tn pesos (US$2.2bn) in royalties.

Data from Fenalcarbón shows that coal-fired generation currently represents 16% of the consumption of Colombians, equivalent to between 15,000t and 18,000t of coal per day.

Given lower rainfall, which implies reduced production from hydroelectric plants, thermoelectric generation in Colombia has been growing.

According to the latest report from grid operator and coordinator of the wholesale electricity market XM, electricity generated with fossil fuels in January was 63.8GWh/d on average. Coal had a 41% share.

“Coal-fired thermal generation is the backup energy that guarantees reliability in supply because we have a very clean matrix, on average about 70% of energy generation comes from hydroelectric plants, that is why we are very vulnerable and, for example when the El Niño phenomenon is felt, thermal generation becomes effective support so that the country isn’t blacked out,” said Cante.

He added that the country must continue moving towards clean energy but cannot discard thermal generation as a backup.

In 2023, Colombia exported 54.5Mt of thermal coal, 2.01Mt of metallurgical coal and 3.9Mt of coke.

Coke is Colombia's main industrial export product, according to Fenalcarbón. Milpa, Carbomax, Carbocoque, Trafigura, Carbones Andinos, Excomin and Minex were the main exporters to destinations such as Brazil, India, Ireland and Turkey.

Mexico stopped being one of the main destinations for Colombian coke due to the closure of steelmaker Ahmsa.

With infrastructure expected to be one of the drivers of global economic growth of around 2.5% in 2024, higher consumption of steel and coke is also expected.