Enel Colombia milks 1st power from 486.7-MW solar farm at home

Latin American utility group Enel Colombia said on Tuesday that its 486.7-MW Guayepo I & II solar farm complex in the Colombian department of Atlantico has fed its first kilowatt-hour to the national grid, as it reached a construction progress of over 60%.

The project is the largest solar photovoltaic plant under construction in Colombia and one of the largest in South America, according to the utility, which will operate the facilities through its renewables unit Enel Green Power.

With an investment of over USD 290 million (EUR 262.4m), the Guayepo I & II complex will cover an area of more than 1,110 hectares (2,743 acres) and will have over 820,600 solar panels installed. It is expected to generate an average of 1,030 GWh of electricity per year, or enough to power over 1.4 million people.

A portion of the plant’s output -- specifically generation from its phase I -- is placed under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Colombian brewery Bavaria SA. Power supplies to the brewery are set to commence in February 2024.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.905)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!