EDF Colombia and Refocosta will build a biomass plant to supply electricity to the Ecopetrol Group

This Ecopetrol release was published using machine translation.

As part of the commitment to contribute to the energy transition through the generation of green energy, EDF Colombia and Refocosta partnered to build the largest biomass power generation plant from the eucalyptus crop in the country.

The plant will be located in the municipality of Villanueva (Casanare) and will have a total installed capacity of 25 MW Net. The energy will be supplied entirely to the Ecopetrol Group, through an agreement with Gecelca SA

In total, more than 200 GWh per year of green and firm energy will be generated, which will mean a reduction in CO2 emissions of more than 70,000 tons per year1 in the country's energy matrix.

One of the most important aspects of this project to highlight consists of the positive impact that it will generate for the regional and local economy, since this technology covers an extensive value chain that goes from work in the nursery, through the preparation of the land and crop management to energy production.

"The investment decision made by EDF and Refocosta is the result of intense development work carried out jointly. Although this project is the first that EDF implements in Colombia, we hope to develop a series of additional projects together with Refocosta to contribute to decarbonization of the Colombian energy matrix, accelerate the energy transition and combat climate change", said Jean-François Lebrun, CEO of EDF Colombia.

The construction of the plant has been scheduled to begin during the first quarter of 2023 with the aim of starting operations at the beginning of 2025, contributing to the diversification of the energy matrix and the transition of the country towards cleaner energy sources.

“At Refocosta, sustainability is the core of our work. For this reason, we are convinced that promoting the generation of green energy with this biomass plant is key to contributing to the objectives set by the country within the framework of COP27, in addition to contributing to energy security and social, economic and environment," said Carlos Andrés López, president of Refocosta.

This plant in Villanueva, which was made possible through the supply agreement with the Ecopetrol Group, becomes the first project in a joint portfolio between EDF and Refocosta that includes biomass projects in the country with a potential of up to 200 MW.

"With the incorporation of energy from biomass to Ecopetrol's supply matrix, we contribute to the decarbonization of our operations and we continue to take firm steps for the generation of green hydrogen in the Ecopetrol Group, which requires non-conventional renewable sources for its production. We hope to continue developing projects that position us as leaders of the energy transition in Colombia and the region," said Felipe Bayón, president of the Ecopetrol Group.