Colombia’s RE Auction Launched

• Colombia's Ministry of Mines and Energy has released a circular specifying the timeline for its first auction for long-term electricity contracts
• It will now be awarded on February 26, 2019 in a technology-neutral auction
• PPA term has been increased from previously 10 years to now 12 years
• The country aims to allocate 1,183,000 MWh of clean energy annually through the auction

After dilly dallying for quite some time, Colombia has finally launched its first long-term auction of electricity contracts. The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) has issued a circular through its planning unit Unidad de Planeacion Minero Energetica (UPME) detailing the timeline of the auction process. It hasn't specified any capacity, but says it will allocate 1,183,000 MWh of clean energy annually through the auction.

Previously, it had planned to hold the auction in January 2019, but later pushed it forward to an unspecified date (see Colombia Renewable Energy Auction Deferred). Now the Ministry of Energy and Mines says February 26, 2019 is when the South American country will auction large-scale renewable energy projects, which is also when the maximum limit will be defined.

Colombia based independent energy consultant Luis Augusto Yepes G in a LinkedIn post said the country has increased the term of power purchase agreement (PPA) for projects to be awarded under the auction by 2 years to 12 years, as opposed to 10-year duration specified earlier (see Colombia Announces First RE Auction). He said the mechanism to determine eligible projects to participate in the auction gives points for reducing GHG emissions which means strong possibilities for renewable energy.