648 MW of Wind Power Capacity to Be Purchased by AES Colombia

This week, DNV GL said that it acted as a technical advisor to the energy company AES Colombia during its planned purchase of the Jemeiwaa Kai portfolio of wind power projects. DNV GL carried out an independent analysis of the La Guajira wind farms wind and power generation regime.

Currently owned by Colwind SA, the Jemeiwaa Kai complex consists of 5 wind farms: Apotolorru, Carrizal, Casa Eléctrica, Irraipa and Jotomana. The five wind farms have a combined power output of almost 650 megawatts (MW). Currently in the development phase, the farms are candidates to take part in Colombia’s next round of energy auctions.

“This will be the biggest wind project in the country, which will make us the leader in renewable power generation in the upcoming years. Our goal is to develop, in Colombia, the most competitive and sustainable portfolio in the entire energy sector,” said Federico Echavarría, General Manager of AES Colombia.

Colombia is currently getting ready for its second renewable energy auction, which will take place in the second half of this year. In the first round, held in February, no projects won as they could not fulfil the indicators set by the authorities. The Colombian authorities have proposed a new model for the second round that features seven changes. These changes include a 12-year PPA contract term, setting hourly blocks for the PPAs instead of yearly production and changing the minimum capacity for projects from 10 MW to 5 MW. This auction is a key component in efforts to achieve Colombia’s goal of 1,500 MW from non-conventional renewable energy sources by 2022.

The methodology used by DNV GL to assess the power generation of wind farm projects is considered a global benchmark. DNV GL’s experts assisted AES Colombia in analyzing the wind energy potential of the projects and in evaluating the performance and production of various manufacturers and models of wind turbines.