Netherlands-headquartered investor Climate Fund Managers (CFM) has started commercial operations at the 26.4MW Pétalo del Norte I solar PV project in Colombia, its first to reach the milestone in Latin America.
The project was delivered in tandem with two Colombian companies, Erco Energía and Andina Solar, and received US$20 million in investment from CFM through its EU-backed renewable energy infrastructure fund, Climate Investor One (CIO).
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“Access to capital for climate infrastructure remains one of the main barriers to achieving Colombia’s 2050 net zero ambition,” said Juan Paez, head of Latin America at CFM, who highlighted the collaborative nature of the project, and the use of a combination of private and public capital to finance the facility, in delivering on this goal.
“Our partnership with Erco Energía, supported by the European Union, shows how blended finance can help bridge that gap—unlocking investment for projects that strengthen energy security and accelerate the clean energy transition.”
Paez’s comments echo sentiments expressed earlier this year by trade body SolarPower Europe, which described the current investment environment in Latin American solar as “pivotal” and stated that meeting the region’s renewable power deployment goals would require a combination of private capital and supportive government policies.
CFM has also invested US$1.5 million into a second Colombian project that combines solar PV and battery storage. The company invested in the 40MW Pradera solar-plus-storage plant through CIO, and will be built on land adjacent to the Pétalo del Norte I project. The project will include 18MWh of battery storage, making it the largest project of this kind in Colombia.
A number of developers have advanced projects in Colombia this year, including Atlas, which started work at a 201MW project last week, and Enel Colombia, which started construction of a 400MW portfolio last December.
