Tackling Colombia's renewable energy project delays

Efforts to accelerate Colombia's clean energy transition are threatened by bureaucracy and a lack of coordination between stakeholders, communities and government entities, the head of renewable energy association SER Colombia told BNamericas. 

Renewable sources, excluding hydropower, currently account for less than 2% of Colombia's 18,626MW of installed capacity despite its enviable conditions for solar and wind power generation. 

"The start-up of renewable projects is disadvantaged mainly by bottlenecks related to procedures," SER executive director Alexandra Hernández said in an interview. 

"A solid regulatory framework is needed together with coordination between communities, the government and companies to be able to reach ... the 20GW installed capacity target set in the national energy plan for 2050."

In a March report, SER Colombia revealed that almost two-thirds of the country's wind and solar projects due online in 2023 and 2024 faced delays.

While some of these developments have since made progress, many remain hampered by cumbersome consultations and licensing gridlock. 

"In the projects that we’ve mapped, based on information from our member companies, there are still a large number of projects – around 65% – that are delayed due to procedures at different entities," she said.

Meanwhile, Hernández warned that a government move to freeze electricity rates for final users would deter private investment in the sector. 

In June, President Gustavo Petro signed a decree empowering the sector regulator to control prices in a bid to curb inflation.  

"The rate freeze represents a change in the rules of the game that could have negative consequences for the interest of foreign investors," Hernández said. 

"Currently, the rates are calculated based on the unit cost, which recognizes the investments and operations of companies throughout the electric power chain. However, by freezing the rates, the real values of generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization aren't adequately reflected for users."

The full interview with Hernández can be seen here and here