Is hydropower a security issue in Colombia?

Plus, while hydropower has long been a highly reliable form of renewable energy, changing weather patterns associated with El Niño are creating hot and dry conditions, making Colombia’s overreliance on hydropower a critical energy security issue.

What is Colombia's energy transition process?

Colombia’s energy transition process is underway. Former President Ivan Duque set a goal to increase non-conventional renewable energy installed capacity from one percent to more than 12 percent of the energy matrix by 2022.

Why is hydropower important in Colombia?

With 70 percent of the country’s power generation, hydropower is a very important national energy source. The total large hydropower potential for Colombia is estimated at 93GW, with an additional 25GW of small hydropower (<20MW) The wind regime in Colombia is among the best in South America.

How will Colombia's renewable generation capacity be boosted by 2023?

boost Colombia’s renewable generation capacity by 2,528 MW, and will leverage more than $2 billion of estimated private sector investment by 2023 Nearly 150 projects have registered at the National Energy Planning Unit with a power capacity of 8,192 MW as of June 2020.

Will Colombia build a hydrogen value chain?

With abundant natural gas reserves and the largest coal producer in Latin America, Colombia is focusing on blue hydrogen production as a base from which to start building the hydrogen value chain. In 2022, Colombia published its roadmap for offshore wind development, part of a broader plan to wean the country off hydropower and fossil fuels.

How much hydropower does Colombia have?

The total large hydropower potential for Colombia is estimated at 93GW, with an additional 25GW of small hydropower (<20MW) The wind regime in Colombia is among the best in South America. Offshore regions of the northern part of Colombia, such as in the Guajira Department, have been classified with class 7 winds (over 10 meters per second (m/s)).