Colombia offshore wind projects facing licensing doubts, expert warns

Colombia must simplify environmental licensing rules to meet its ambitious targets for offshore wind energy, an industry expert told BNamericas. 

The warning comes as the mines and energy ministry moves ahead with Latin America's first competitive bidding process for offshore wind farms. 

"It [offshore wind] is a fantastic idea but there are many issues that need to be sorted out," Alejandro Lucio, the CEO of consultancy firm Óptima, told BNamericas in a telephone interview. 

"If environmental licensing for grid connection is an issue for onshore projects, just give a thought to how difficult it's going to be for offshore wind. It's a nice prospect but we cannot count on having that energy in the near-term future."

The government announced earlier this month that eight groups had pre-qualified to participate in the bidding process for projects off Colombia's Atlantic coast, including two companies from China and five from Europe.

Officials say the process paves the way for up to 3GW of wind power capacity in Caribbean waters off the departments of Atlántico, Bolívar, Magdalena and Sucre.

Lucio urged the government to guarantee the viability of onshore renewable energy projects before promoting investment in the offshore segment. 

"We need to first prioritize market reforms," he said. "And we need to focus on finishing onshore [renewable energy] projects that have been under development for the last five or 10 years."

The full interview with Lucio can be se seen here.