Ecopetrol: Ecopetrol Group awarded contract for the construction of a new solar park in Huila

The Ecopetrol Group awarded the company AES Colombia the contract for the development of the Solar Brisas Ecopark in the municipality of Aipe, Huila department, which will be added to the Castilla and San Fernando parks, which are already in operation.

The project will be developed under a 15-year power purchase contract with AES Colombia. Its objective will be to self-supply part of the energy demand of the operations of Ecopetrol’s production fields in Huila.

This new eco-park will have an installed power of 26 megawatts (MWp), which is equivalent to energizing a population center of 35 thousand inhabitants, that is, an area similar to the municipality of San Agustín, Huila. It is expected to come into operation in the last quarter of 2022.

The Brisas eco-park will occupy an area of ​​almost 20 hectares, where more than 48 thousand state-of-the-art solar panels will be located with bifacial technology and a sun-tracking mechanism that allows greater efficiency.

Its entry into operation will prevent the emission of more than 216 thousand equivalent tons of CO2 (carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere during the 15 years of operation, a figure that is equivalent to the planting of 1.7 million trees, approximately.

The goal of the Ecopetrol Group is to have a renewable energy portfolio of 400 MW by 2023, of which it is estimated that 85% will come from solar energy through projects in Meta, Huila, Arauca, Santander, Bolívar, Sucre, Cundinamarca , Magdalena and Antioquia.

From Glasgow, Scotland, where he is participating in the COP26 summit, the president of Ecopetrol, Felipe Bayón, stated that this eco-park ratifies the company’s purpose of leading the energy transition in the region and moving forward with concrete actions that allow a timely response to the needs of the planet.

“This new eco-park is part of our roadmap to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050, a commitment we make to contribute to the mitigation of climate change,” said President Bayón.

In addition to solar parks, the Ecopetrol Group evaluates alternatives for wind, geothermal, small hydroelectric plants, biomass and the use of batteries. In addition, the company is developing a 50 kW hydrogen pilot from an electrolyzer.