Winds, gusts and fuss

Last Friday the first second generation wind farm was inaugurated in the Municipality of Uribia (La guajira). This is the first of 16 wind farms to be installed on the peninsula, which were auctioned in February and October 2019. This is perhaps the most important contribution that Colombia is making in its roadmap aimed at fulfilling its commitment with the international community to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 51% by 2030. This boom in non-conventional sources of renewable energy (FNCER) in Colombia, particularly wind power generation, is due to the issuance of Law 1715 of 2014, which has been reinforced with the recent enactment of Law 2099 of 2021 on Energy Transition.

The Department of La Guajira has the greatest potential for both wind and solar-photovoltaic energy, which is why the greatest generation capacity from FNCER is being concentrated there. The speed of the trade winds coming from the northeast that exceed 9.8 meters per second, twice the world average, and solar radiation between 6 and 7 kilowatts/hour per square meter per day, 60% higher than the global average, are called to convert La guajira into the country's energy hub par excellence.

For this reason, it is no coincidence that the first pilot wind farm, on an experimental basis, Jepírrache, was installed by EPM de Medellín in Media Luna (Corregimiento del Cabo de la Vela) and began operating on April 19, 2004, which has 15 wind turbines of 1.3 MW each, with an installed capacity of 19.5 MW nominal power. We could say that with it and with the collection of the records of its operation, the path was cleared and progress was made in the learning curve, making the current developments possible.

The assembly of the Guajira 1 wind farm, built by the ISAGEN company, which was inaugurated with the presence of the President of the Republic Iván Duque, the Minister of Mines and Energy Diego Mesa and the Manager of the ISAGEN company, developer of this project, Camilo Marulanda, is just the beginning of what will be a long and winding road ahead. This is 20 MW of power out of more than 2,000 MW to be installed, only 1% (!) of the contracted power generation. Ten 78-meter-high wind turbines with a generating capacity of 2 MW each and 30 propellers with 49-meter-long blades were installed, in an area of ​​5.5 hectares, in the paradisiacal township of Cabo de la Vela (Municipality of Uribia ).

But, not everything is hunky-dory, given the considerable delay in the construction of the collector Substation as well as the laying of the transmission line from it to the Cuestecitas Substation, from which two lines depart, one to La Loma (Cesar) and the other to Bosconia (Cesar) where they connect with the National Transmission System (SNT) at 110 kilovolts (KV). The first is run by Grupo Energía Bogotá and the second by ISA. The difficulties and setbacks caused by the pandemic and the process of prior consultations lead us to believe that, at the rate we are going, the energy generated in the other planned wind farms will only be fully integrated into the country's electrical matrix around February. 2025. As long as this obstacle is not removed, it will be very difficult to advance the other projects that are behind, queuing up to start their execution and the investment that is expected for their installation, which is counted on to contribute to the economic recovery will have to endure.

To overcome this obstacle, ISAGEN has had to contract with El Cerrejón, as EPM has been doing with Jepírache, for the connection and transmission of the energy it generates from the second quarter of this year, when the Substation of this wind farm, which is not yet and thus prevent the energy it generates from being trapped, incurring an undesirable loss of profit.

I don't want to play the spoilsport, but this inauguration is not enough for so much wind and fuss on the part of the Government, which boasts by magnifying and exaggerating in its announcements the importance and significance of the start-up of this first 2.0 wind farm. Nor is it admissible that it is intended to be packaged as part of the $13.6 billion that, according to President Duque's announcement, has been invested in La Guajira, since neither the investment in this wind farm nor that of the remaining 15 commits public resources.

Santa Marta, January 24, 2022

www.amylkaracosta.net

[1] Former Minister of Mines and Energy