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Colombia ramping up gas, coal-fired power as El Niño bites

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Thermoelectric power generation in Colombia jumped 46% in December as lower rainfall reduced output from hydroelectric plants, new figures show. 

Thermopower plants fired by fossil fuels produced 79.15GWh/d compared to 54.38GWh/d the previous month, according to data published by grid operator and wholesale power market coordinator XM. 

Plants fueled by imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) reported the sharpest rise, with output climbing 185% sequentially to 31.48GWh/d. They were followed by coal, which saw a 45% increase to 27.08GWh/d. 

Bucking the trend were plants fueled by fossil fuel-derived liquids (down 43% to 3.58GWh/d) and locally produced natural gas (down 8% to 17.02GWh/d). 

Hydroelectric power generation, meanwhile, fell 18% month-on-month to 137.25GWh/d.

Average dam levels stood at 70.2% in December, down 4.6 percentage points from the November figure.

"[Falling] hydropower contributions reflect El Niño conditions that have been present since last May," XM said. 

Hydroelectric plants account for more than two thirds of Colombia's installed power capacity and in times of drought the country relies on more costly thermoelectric power to meet demand. 

Stalled transition

The strain on thermoelectric plants, which are expected to operate at near full capacity in the coming months, has been heightened by Colombia's stuttering clean energy buildout. 

None of the 50-plus wind and solar projects totaling 2.5GW announced since 2019 have begun commercial operations. 

Industry observers blame the slow progress on social unrest and environmental licensing requirements, including a need for developers to conduct exhaustive consultations with individual communities.

According to XM, solar parks generated 5.88GWh/d in December – or around 4% of the total – while wind farms contributed 509MWh/d (0.35% of the total).