Colombia's first auction of offshore wind energy attracts global interest

The National Hydrocarbons Agency of Colombia (ANH), a South American agency, announced on Thursday that companies from all over the world had proposed developing 69 offshore areas for the country's first offshore energy auction.

Why it's important

The auction represents a major step towards President Gustavo Petro’s goal to diversify the energy sector, and reduce dependence on coal and oil.

Companies from Belgium, Britain and Spain as well as Colombian firms like Ecopetrol are among the companies that have expressed an interest in participating in this auction.

KEY QUOTES

ANH released a statement that said: "Once the suitability and feasibility of the proposals are verified, approved companies can make offers in areas of interest with the option to be awarded up to two (projects)."

By the Numbers

The Colombian Government aims to award from the auction projects that will lead to a minimal installed capacity for power generation of 1 gigawatt, each project having a requirement of a 200 megawatt minimum installed capacity.

The administration of Petro has set a goal to install 7 gigawatts by 2040.

The date of the project award has not yet been announced. Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra, Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Editing by David Alire Garcia & Barbara Lewis

(source: Reuters)