Ecopetrol and AES Colombia launched the Brisas solar energy self-generation ecopark, located in the municipality of Aipe, department of Huila, which has an installed capacity of 26 megawatts (MWp) and an area of ??21 hectares, equivalent to 25 soccer fields. , and has more than 49,000 state-of-the-art panels with bifacial technology.
The solar complex was built by AES Colombia under a 15-year energy supply contract for Ecopetrol's operations in Huila. Its operation will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 216 thousand tons during the term of the contract.
The technology used in the eco-park captures sunlight from both sides of the panels, thereby obtaining the highest efficiency and the highest plant factor possible. In addition, the complex will have sun tracking technology, which allows the rays to hit the photovoltaic modules perpendicularly at all times.
The construction of this solar eco-park generated around 285 job opportunities, of which 73% were local labor, 22% were women and 35% were young people between 18 and 25 years of age. Likewise, local goods and services were contracted for 2,200 million pesos.
The president of the Ecopetrol Group, Felipe Bayón, highlighted the importance of the contribution of the new solar eco-park to the just energy transition, in which the Organization works in coordination with the National Government.
“We are accelerating the actions and initiatives in our 2040 strategy with low emission solutions. We have just signed an agreement with Total Eren for the construction of the largest solar park in the country in Meta, we are advancing with wind energy projects, biomass, hydrogen pilots, among others. All these actions point to our goal of zero net carbon emissions in 2050,” said President Bayón.
For his part, the president of the International Business Unit of AES Corporation, Juan Ignacio Rubiolo, expressed "Brisas is another example of our commitment to the energy transition of Colombia, supporting the Government and our clients so that they have sustainable energy, reliable and affordable. We are accelerating the future of energy with solutions that allow countries and organizations worldwide to achieve carbon neutrality goals, through renewable and low-emission generation sources, battery technology, and new sources such as it is hydrogen. With Brisas we added more than 108 MW of solar installed capacity, which makes us leaders in self-generation in the country.”
To date, AES Colombia has built two other solar eco-parks that supply energy to the Ecopetrol group: Castilla and San Fernando, located in the department of Meta and which between them add up to 82 MW of installed capacity. As of December 2022, these two assets registered a reduction of more than 32,000 tons of CO2 and generated savings of more than $22,000 million for Ecopetrol as of October 30 of last year.
The inauguration of the Brisas solar ecopark was attended by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Velez; members of the Ecopetrol Board of Directors; the president of Ecopetrol, Felipe Bayón; the president of AES Colombia, Federico Echavarría, local authorities, journalists, workers and people from the community.
