Colombia awarded 100 MW of battery storage capacity: prices are falling, but the solar-BESS equation remains under review.

With 995 MW of solar and nearly 100 MW of storage awarded in Colombia's latest energy auction , the integration of both technologies is gaining ground, but it faces difficulties in securing financing. In this regard, the private sector indicates that, despite the decreasing cost of batteries, hybrid projects still face obstacles in reaching financial closure.

During the Future Energy Summit (FES) Colombia 2026 , Camilo Bejarano , Sales Manager Utility at JA Solar, warned that the decrease in battery prices is not solving all the difficulties faced by developers.

“From our perspective as manufacturers, we have observed that when it comes to financial closure, projects are combined with two costs: the battery and the PV, as a single project,” he explained.

“That’s when we see that this closure doesn’t make sense. Why? Because the lifespan of the two components and their behaviors are completely different in terms of their degradation rate,” he added.

The observation points to the particularities of each asset: while photovoltaic modules can maintain their production for several decades, BESS systems require consideration of the progressive loss of capacity, charge and discharge cycles and eventual component replacements .

These variables affect revenue projections, operating expenses, and capital recovery periods. However, their integration can offer economic advantages when the financial design takes into account the characteristics of both teams.

More affordable batteries and new market signals

The warning contrasts with international price trends. According to industry estimates, the average price of battery packs for stationary storage fell by 45% year-on-year in 2025, to USD 70/kWh .

Meanwhile, the benchmark levelized cost of four-hour BESS projects decreased by 27% to USD 78/MWh, reaching one of its lowest historical levels. This latter indicator considers the cost of supplying energy over the lifetime of the project and should not be confused with the purchase price of the batteries.

Despite this evolution, Bejarano suggested that the Colombian market could advance at a moderate pace.

“We believe that Colombia will be more cautious in the next two years in making decisions to change, or give a little bit of a shift in adopting more complementary batteries for what has already been installed in the country,” he said.

The recent call for energy procurement offers a first indicator of the scale of this transition.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy reported on July 29 that the auction awarded 995 MW of photovoltaic power and approximately 100 MW of storage power , under a scheme that includes long-term contracts of up to 15 years.

During its first day, nearly 100 MW of battery capacity was allocated along with 270 MW of solar power, while on the second day another 725 MW of photovoltaic capacity was contracted.

The result allows us to assess the initial progress of hybrid contracting, although the awarded power still needs to be translated into built and operational facilities.

The challenge of transforming the portfolio into installed capacity

The expansion of renewable generation also raises questions about the speed of implementation of investments.

XM's latest report, published on October 30, indicates that Colombia added 1038.85 MW of new electrical power between January and September 2026 , distributed across 128 power plants of different technologies.

In the third quarter alone, 42 facilities totaling 698.2 MW came online, 39 of which were solar. Additionally, as of the end of September, another 140 projects totaling 1147.97 MW were in initial testing, including 133 photovoltaic initiatives.

Although the figures reflect concrete progress, the JA Solar representative considered it necessary to pay more attention to compliance with the schedules.

“We can’t keep having 2 or 6 GW of projects on the map that are going to be executed… when?” he questioned.

The approach coincides with a transformation that the company observes among developers: the diversification of their portfolios towards facilities of different capacities, combining small power plants with parks between 19 and 100 MW and initiatives greater than 250 MW.

This variety of scales also opens up possibilities for incorporating storage in smaller projects, especially where there are generation surpluses or price differences between times of day.

In that regard, Bejarano mentioned a solution implemented in Colombia that includes 5 MWh battery units connected to approximately 1.4 MW installations , intended to capture energy and shift its delivery to periods of higher value.

“What these Grid Savers are doing is connecting the 1.4 MW networks, capturing those losses in 5 MWh battery units to be able to dispatch the peak hours,” he described.

The example shows an alternative use of storage beyond large hybrid parks, although its viability depends on connection conditions, available income and the characteristics of each facility.

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