Colombia Awards 100 MW of Batteries and 270 MW Solar in First Hybrid Auction

Colombia's Ministry of Mines and Energy awarded, on July 28, 2026, a total of 270 megawatts (MW) of new solar photovoltaic capacity and approximately 100 MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the first session of its long-term clean energy auction. The closing price was 315.87 Colombian pesos per MWh-day, equivalent to less than 30% of the spot market price during drought periods, according to pv magazine Latin America.

The auction, organized by the Bolsa Mercantil de Colombia with backing from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is the country's first long-term procurement to combine solar generation with storage as an adjudicable hybrid product. Contracts run for 15 years, with supply starting January 1, 2030, under a pay-as-contracted structure. The outcome sets a price reference for hybrid tenders across the region: batteries now compete as a dispatchable resource, not merely as grid backup.

In the second session, on July 29, the auction assigned an additional 725 MW of new solar capacity, bringing the total to 995 MW of solar and approximately 100 MW of batteries, according to El Tiempo. The contracted storage capacity is ten times the amount currently installed in Colombia. The hybrid product's energy will be delivered in two time blocks: from 8:00 to 18:00 for the solar block and from 18:00 to 22:00 for the battery-displaced block, supplying more than 67,000 households during peak demand hours.

Minister Edwin Palma described the results as a milestone for the country's just energy transition. With approximately 11,000 MW of new capacity across projects in operation, under construction, and awarded, the immediate challenge is execution: contracts do not come online until 2030, and it will fall to the next government to ensure projects advance. The ministry requested that the CREG hold an urgent reconfiguration auction to strengthen grid reliability.

This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.