Colombia’s electricity market and grid operator, XM, has awarded 1,546.9 MW of solar and 246 MW of wind capacity under the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission’s (CREG) fifth Firm Energy Obligations (OEF) auction.

The awarded renewable energy capacity across 29 solar and two wind projects totaled 1,792 MW, accounting for 45%of all the awarded capacity of 4,069.7 MW, which also included hydroelectric and thermal power.

The market operator selected 77 of the 85 projects participating in the auction.

The auction allocated 143.01 GWh/day of firm energy obligations. Solar accounted for 11.06 GWh/day, or 7.7% of the total, while wind accounted for 76,358 kWh/day, or 0.1%.

CREG set two auction closing prices based on the variable costs of the participating projects. Projects with higher variable costs had a closing price of $16.4/MWh and $22/MWh for projects with lower variable costs.

XM will issue the OEF certificates to these projects on September 14, 2026.

Colombia is implementing a long-term electricity auction program offering 15-year pay-as-bid contracts from 2030 to reduce price volatility risks. It also hopes to ensure that power retailers meet the legal obligation that 10% of their electricity purchases come from non-conventional renewables.

While the contracts are scheduled to start from January 1, 2030, winning bidders can begin production earlier and extend the term of the power purchase agreements.

This April, Atlas Renewable Energy, a solar and wind project developer, secured COP453.95 billion (~$121 million) in financing for the 99.9 MW El Campano solar project in Córdoba, Colombia, achieving financial close and enabling construction.

In February, Scatec, a renewable energy solutions provider, secured financing for the 130 MW Barzalosa solar project in Colombia.

In 2022, the International Finance Corporation announced an investment of $10 million in the form of preferred equity in Vatia, a Colombian electricity retailer and aggregator, to help improve access to cleaner energy.