Termoguajira Power Plant will be the first to move towards 100% decarbonized electricity generation

This Minenergy release was published using machine translation.

Within the framework of the exercise of Government with the people that is being carried out in the department of La Guajira, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez Torres, announced that the Termoguajira power plant , from the Gecelca company, located in the municipality of Dibulla, is the first thermoelectric plant to decide unanimously and move towards 100% decarbonized electricity generation.

This thermoelectric plant with a capacity of 290 megawatts (MW) uses coal as the main fuel for its operation and natural gas as secondary and support fuel for the start-up of the units.

"This is great news for the country, but especially for the department of La Guajira, since the just energy transition is beginning to materialize and this territory will be zero carbon," said Irene Vélez Torres, Minister of Mines and Energy, who added that " from the Ministry of Mines and Energy we will be accompanying with technical advice and supporting the search for alternatives to finance this investment”.

Termoguajira will transition to renewable energy through a scheme that will include solar panels and energy storage systems through batteries. In addition, to provide stability to the network, the installation of synchronous capacitors is contemplated, which will allow the network to be strengthened.

The best technical capacity balance strategy is being established to make the most of the connection point and establish the proportion of panels and batteries necessary for the transition.

On the other hand, Gecelca's board of directors decided that it will promote the deployment of solar energy in the region through both individual and associative photovoltaic generation schemes in its area of influence in the municipality of Dibulla, joining the "Solar Outburst" initiative. of the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

The transformation of Termoguajira is the reference project for the consolidation of our plan "From Coal to the Future: TEJ plan in coal-fired thermoelectric plants in Colombia" contemplated in the TEJ Roadmap, allowing progress in the decarbonization of the matrix electricity in our country. This fact, together with Gecelca's immersion in the "Solar Outburst" is a bet that shows that the Just Energy Transition in Colombia advances in the Government of Change!

The Plan, currently under construction, contemplates giving guidelines on labor and productive reconversion in the areas of influence of the thermoelectric plants, integrating new socio-territorial relationship models in the projects, financing strategies for the transition, among others, and it expects to start its discussion with the different ones of the sector in September and to be published for comments in November 2023.