English
Spanish
E-edition Now Available!
ABSTRACT
COVER STORY
Vestas commits to Colombia, a promising market for wind power
WIND POWER
Wind power, a future commitment: bureaucracy and speculation must not halt its necessary deployment
Electric generator diagnostics using current signature analysis of operating wind turbines
Predictive maintenance for wind turbines based on scada data
Smart data analytics, the key to combat climate change
Onshore foundations: innovative solutions to powerful turbines
Innovation, the key to prolonging the useful life of wind turbine blades
Advanced formulation lubricants for critical wind turbine components
CSP
CSP sets an all-time generation record, exceeding 2,800 GWh in the first half of 2019
Noor Energy 1: a watershed project for the CSP industry?
ENERGY EFFICIENCY & MANAGEMENT. HOTELS
First large-size hotel to be certified under the passive house standard in Spain
CO2 air source heat pumps. The most efficient way for a hotel to produce DHW
Smarter and more efficient hotels thanks to control and automation solutions
DHC NETWORKS
District heating needs flexibility to navigate the energy transition
Txomin Enea district heating network: innovation and efficiency in urban planning
Europe’s untapped energy source
June 2019
Cover story
VESTAS COMMITS TO COLOMBIA, A PROMISING MARKET FOR WIND POWER
With almost 70% generated by hydroelectric power, Colombia enjoys one of the cleanest energy matrices in the world. However, the national power grid is tremendously exposed to periods of drought. Given this context, the country has decided to commit to diversifying its matrix through non-conventional renewables.
To which end, Colombia held its first non-conventional renewables auction last February. Despite no project being awarded, the initiative has given rise to a fruitful debate between government and market agents to improve participation conditions and to launch a new tender, currently scheduled to take place this September. This second auction aims to be a rallying point for the demands of the sectors as regards the supply and demand of energy in Colombia, as well as a commitment to creating a more sustainable, competitive and diverse energy matrix.
As global leader in wind power solutions with four decades of experience, Vestas sees in Colombia a huge potential for developing renewables projects.
In this regard, the first steps are already being taken to create a favourable framework for the development of the entire industry. Some of these steps can be seen in the recently passed Act 1955 of 2019, under which the Colombian Government established its National Development Plan 2018-2022 “Pact for Colombia, pact for equality”. Among other measures, the plan contains the requirement that the utilities acquire between 8% and 10% of their energy from non-conventional renewable sources. This measure would, ultimately, mean that the end user can decide to consume non-conventional renewable energies, such as solar, wind or biomass, at very competitive prices. As such they will become the protagonist in the transition towards a more sustainable society.
To this initiative must be added the recent publication of the draft resolution for the second non-conventional renewables auction that aims to respond to the issues identified as obstacles to the successful holding of auctions. Vestas sees how the sector is still discussing some points of this initiative, including the date on which the projects come on line, contract duration, the degree of bankability of the proposed contracts and the guarantees required to take part in the auction.
However, with the experience gained from its global presence, the company believes that this draft already represents a step forward along the path towards the effective configuration of a more diversified and sustainable energy matrix.
