Colombia is gearing up for a new auction focused exclusively on renewable energy projects, a long-awaited call that could mark a turning point in reactivating the country’s investment pipeline in clean power.
“The tender is expected to be launched in early February this year,” sources close to the power sector told Energía Estratégica.
Although the auction was first anticipated in October last year, it is only now taking concrete shape. One distinctive feature is that it would be carried out simultaneously with the reliability charge auction—a mechanism designed to ensure long-term security of electricity supply.
The Comisión de Regulación de Energía y Gas (CREG) has already defined the call for the reliability charge auction for the 2029–2030 period, which is scheduled to be executed in March 2026 and includes stages for bid bonds, offer submission and publication of results.
This overlap is raising concerns among energy market participants due to the absence of technical guidelines on how both auctions will be linked. Key details such as the amount of capacity to be tendered and the contractual conditions have yet to be defined, limiting developers’ ability to prepare projects.
The issue is particularly sensitive given Colombia’s progress against its own targets. By the end of 2025, the country had added just 2 GW of new renewable capacity, well below the 6 GW committed for completion by the end of 2026.
In an effort to unlock stalled developments, the Ministerio de Minas y Energía and the Unidad de Planeación Minero Energética (UPME) carried out a clean-up of projects showing no real progress, freeing up around 5 GW of available capacity in the national transmission grid.
Recent experience is also shaping the design of the upcoming auction. In December, Colombia held its first offshore wind auction, with expectations of allocating up to 3 GW in the Caribbean Sea. However, only one bid was submitted, highlighting the challenges still faced by large-scale renewable developments in the country.
As a result, the forthcoming renewable auction will need to incorporate these lessons and send clearer signals to investors. The expectation is that the official announcement will be made no later than February, with tender documents published in time for stakeholders to assess risks and prepare bids.
