Colombia has taken a key step toward integrating 200 MW of solar power into the national electricity grid. The National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA) granted the environmental license for the interconnection of the Ariguaní Photovoltaic Park with the La Loma 500 kV Substation in the department of Cesar.
The authorization specifically corresponds to the infrastructure necessary to evacuate the energy from the park and take it to the National Transmission System , through a single circuit power line at 500 kV and 6.08 kilometers in length .
The project, managed by Grupo Energía Bogotá SAESP , will be developed in the municipalities of El Paso and Chiriguaná and will cover an intervention area of 42.99 hectares.
The connection will allow the energy generated by the 200 MWac Ariguaní Photovoltaic Park to be incorporated into the transmission network and move towards its effective integration into the Colombian electrical system.
“This decision is the result of a rigorous technical evaluation and the product of an accelerated management effort to consolidate the renewable energy infrastructure in the country,” said Sergio Piñeros Botero , director of the ANLA.
The official added that the goal is to ensure that projects comply with regulations and maintain conditions of environmental sustainability in the territories where they are developed.
The evaluation involved specialists from various disciplines, including forestry, civil, environmental, agronomic, biological, hydrological, hydrogeological, geological, economic and social areas.
The 500 kV connection is progressing with environmental obligations
The license not only enables the construction, operation and maintenance of the transmission line, but also establishes specific measures to mitigate and compensate for the impacts associated with the project.
Grupo Energía Bogotá will have to compensate for 18.48 hectares for residual biotic impacts , derived from the intervention of 15.14 hectares of natural, semi-natural and transformed ecosystems.
To this end, the ANLA approved a plan that includes restoration actions with a focus on rehabilitation and sustainable use .
The measures must be implemented directly by the company through conservation agreements with owners or stakeholders linked to the selected areas.
With the environmental license granted, the interconnection project surpasses one of its main regulatory milestones and enables the next step to bring the production of the Ariguaní park to the National Transmission System.
The significance of the project lies in the fact that it is not a new isolated power plant, but rather the necessary infrastructure for 200 MW of solar power to be effectively connected and delivered to the Colombian grid.