Colombia has numerous resources for power generation and its development over the previous years has shown that wind energy is becoming increasingly important. So far, however, 70% of the power in the country has been generated exclusively through hydropower, and 29% comes from fossil power plants. Prolonged periods of drought, triggered through the “El Niño” weather phenomenon, can lead to low water levels in rivers and bottlenecks in electricity generated from hydropower. To meet the increasing demand for electricity in Colombia and to minimize the risk of power outages, the government is aiming to diversify the energy mix and is increasingly relying on wind power to complement power generation. Nordex believes Colombia offers excellent conditions for wind power generation. In particular, the peninsula of La Guajira off the Caribbean coast in the north of the country, with its stable wind forces of around 9 m/s, is ideally suited for wind power generation. Experts estimate an onshore potential of around 18 GW and almost all wind projects under development in Colombia are located on that peninsula.
Recent Developments Support An Optimistic Outlook
Wind currently only accounts for about 0.13% of installed capacity in the country’s energy mix. Recent developments show, however, that the Colombian government plans to expand the amount of renewables (excluding hydropower) from 22.4 MW to 1.5 GW by 2023 and potentially to around 4 GW by 2030. This would take the share of installed capacity from wind in Colombia’s power mix to a total of 12% over the next years.
In 2020, Nordex received an order for 41 N149/4.0-4.5 turbines of the Delta 4000 series to be installed in Colombia. The turbines, with a rotor diameter of 149 meters and a hub height of 105 meters, will be erected on the La Guajira peninsula. The Nordex Group’s N149/4.0-4.5 turbine was the world’s first turbine with featured flexible rated power as part of its design and operating strategy. This design philosophy, in combination with a variety of operating modes in the 4-MW and 5-MW class, allows each Delta 4000 turbine to adapt to grid requirements and local wind conditions. Nordex believes that the N155/4.X, 155/5.X, and N163/5.X turbine types of the Delta 4000 series also have particular sales potential on the Colombian market. Customers could continue to benefit from the Nordex’s diverse tower portfolio including the concrete tower solution.
The trend toward renewable energies in Colombia is unequivocal. In the years to come, the installed capacity of onshore wind power is expected to gradually increase. The development, production, project development, and maintenance of onshore wind turbines have, for more than 35 years, been the core competence and passion of the Nordex Group and its more than 8390 employees worldwide. Local teams manage project consulting and provide operation and maintenance services onsite. With a total of 224.5 MW of onshore wind power sold, the Nordex Group is the market leader in Colombia.
