Colombia announces auction for renewable energy

Edwin Palma, Colombia's Energy Minister, announced a upcoming renewable energy auction on Wednesday. He said he will travel to the United States to promote this.

Palma stated during a conference in Cartagena that he would be in New York Monday and Tuesday to discuss energy,?and promote the renewable energy auction which he hoped would be available soon.

Palma also proposed an open season auction for regasification projects, which, according to the?ministry, would be a transparent, competitive mechanism that would secure firm capacity in the gas sector, support new infrastructure, and strengthen the reliability and security of the energy system.

Open-season auctions in the energy and infrastructure sector are used to measure demand prior to projects being developed. This helps ensure financial viability and efficient allocation of capacity, especially if you are interested in natural gas transportation and regasification.

Palma stated that "this will enable us to provide sufficient backup for the system, and facilitate?integration with clean energy."

The South American nation is forced to import more fuel due to a?deficit in gas production. (Reporting and editing by Natalia Siniawski, Kyry Madry, and Nelson Bocanegra)

(source: Reuters)