Colombia officially presented on Tuesday the road map to develop offshore wind farms as part of the government’s transition from fossil fuels to energy renewables, and five months after President Iván Duque and Minister of Mines and Energy Diego Mesa inaugurated the La Guajira 1 wind complex in the country’s northernmost department.
The road map, and first offshore wind project in South America, is backed by the World Bank Group and authored by The Renewables Consulting Group.
The road map highlights that Colombia’s offshore wind capacity could reach 1 GW by 2030, 3 GW by 2040, and 9 GW by 2050. Investments in Colombia’s offshore wind potential could total US$27 billion and give employment to 26,000 within the next three decades.
“The 231-page document is not a policy proposal, but rather a road map study of Colombia’s offshore wind potential, and an analysis of its infrastructure, regulatory framework and social and environmental considerations, among others,” write industry specialists Renewable Now. “The road map describes two scenarios – the low and high scenario – depending on how much the state is involved. In the low scenario, offshore wind is not supported or steered by the government, and the development is sporadic and reduced to projects of up to 500 MW.”
Plans to build the first offshore wind farm on the Caribbean coast were unveiled back in March, when the Mayor of Barranquilla, Jaime Pumarejo, signed a memorandum of understanding with Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). The Barranquilla wind park will have the capacity to generate 350 megawatts, and is scheduled to become operational in 2026.
