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While almost half of the large renewable energy projects in La Guajira have serious uncertainties about their entry into operation on time due to difficulties in prior consultations for the environmental license process for the Colectora line, in charge of Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB ), The interest of individuals and companies in venturing into smaller-scale electricity generation projects, mainly for self-consumption, continues to grow significantly.
Figures from the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (Upme) show that this year the rate of requests for this purpose continues to accelerate, amid the greater attractiveness of undertaking investments, due to the fact that since May 2019 solar panels have been exempt from VAT , charge controllers and energy inverters for these systems, adding to the deduction in income tax for renewable energy projects.
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Indeed, last year there were 272 requests received in search of a certification to access these incentives, at a monthly rate of 22.2 requests, while between January and August 2020 the figure reached 194 requests, for an average monthly of 24.2.
Even between January and August, requests from companies and people interested in these initiatives and in tax discounts grew by 13.5 percent per year, since a year ago, in the first eight months, the number was 171 requests.
Of the total of documents filed until August for these initiatives before the Upme in order to access the incentives, 183 corresponded to solar energy projects, three to small hydroelectric plants, 7 were from biomass initiatives and one from wind energy.
With this, to date, in the last four years 947 projects have been presented, of which 91 percent (864 initiatives) have been to implement photovoltaic solar energy solutions; 34, for small hydroelectric plants; 32, for biomass, and one for wind energy.
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And of all the projects that have already been certified since 2016, 69.45 percent correspond to those with a generation capacity between 10 kilowatts and one megawatt, while 18.29 percent (103 projects) have capacities up to 10 kilowatts. In 2019 alone, of the 212 certified requests, 85 percent corresponded to those with up to one megawatt of capacity, 15 have capacity between 10 and 100 megawatts (here they classify large solar parks) and five had a capacity greater than 100 megawatts.
Great incentive
To date, of the 947 initiatives presented, 563 are already certified, that is, they have a favorable concept to have tax benefits; another 250 are in the evaluation stage, 61 were withdrawn, 23 rejected and 50 were archived.
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According to Upme, which in the next few days will publish the certified projects so far this year, the investments guaranteed during 2019 totaled 312,612 million pesos and the value of the VAT guaranteed as a benefit reached 54,337 million pesos, accumulating in the last four years projected investments of 834,738 million pesos and an amount guaranteed by VAT of 150,347 million pesos.
Despite this dynamics, some experts in the sector consider that measures still need to be implemented so that these investments allow the country to advance in terms of distributed generation, that is, in the entry of small sources of self-generation in homes, farms or businesses, based on in sources such as the sun or wind, mainly, that can contribute their surplus to the market through the interconnected system, as part of the participation of consumers in it.
At the beginning of September, the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (Upme) issued resolutions Upme 203 and 196 of 2020, regulating the procedures to obtain the certificate that allows access to tax benefits for projects of non-conventional sources of energy- FNCE and of efficient energy management-GEE.
“Citizens interested in investing in unconventional sources of energy or in energy efficiency management may request the certificate that allows access to tax benefits for these projects. To facilitate the process we have had a virtual channel for filing your applications, there will be fewer requirements to obtain the certificate and you will be able to follow up your application online ”, explained Christian Jaramillo, director of the Upme.
According to Germán Corredor, president of the Colombian Association of Renewable Energies (SER Colombia), although it is true that the procedures for accessing tax benefits have been simplified, it is necessary to review the effective VAT benefits for national products and the income benefits for companies new. This in order to make the benefits equitable for all market players.
Distributed generation is a key factor for economic reactivation, but there are other difficulties that delay decision-making and project execution
“Distributed generation is a key factor for economic reactivation, but there are other difficulties that delay decision-making and project execution. The processes are not expeditious and there are bottlenecks that make investors doubt, ”said Marcos Páez, commercial director of Green Yellow Colombia, in a recent forum organized by SER Colombia.
(Too: Renewable energy reaches 11.5 million jobs in the world)
José Antonio Vargas Lleras, president of the Committee of Members of Colombia of the World Energy Council, indicates that to accelerate the energy transition, work must be done on four key aspects: digitization, decarbonization, decentralization and demand, emphasizing that now we must talk about humanizing the energy transition.
According to experts, there is a high potential in distributed energy resources, not only in environmental terms, but also as a driver in the reactivation after the pandemic.
They propose an agenda for the country’s energy transition
Juan Ricardo Ortega, president of Grupo Energía Bogotá
Bogotá Energy Group
Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB) presented a proposal to promote an energy transition agenda for Colombia in the coming years, which will allow progress in decarbonization and make an important commitment to green hydrogen.
In the framework of the annual congress of the National Association of Public Services and Communications Companies (Andesco), the entity, chaired by Juan Ricardo Ortega, highlighted the importance of the country setting the goal of being carbon neutral by 2035, Y achieve cooperation agreements with international entities such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA for its acronym in English), in the adoption of best practices and standards in the Colombian industry.
In addition, the GEB proposed the replacement of the automotive fleet with more than 20 years and its conversion to Euro VI technology, that in regional trunk roads more vehicular natural gas and liquefied gas stations be installed, set tax rates and tariffs according to the emissions of polluting gases, and that in the construction of new buildings and public spaces the connection for electric vehicles is guaranteed.
“For Grupo Energía Bogotá, it is necessary to advance in the electrification of the country and in providing reliable, clean and safe energy solutions for more than a million Colombian homes that cook with wood and are lit with candles ”, added the entity.
The GEB highlighted the interest in developing a commitment to green hydrogen, considering it fundamental to take advantage of the great potential that some regions of Colombia have, such as the Atlantic Coast and, particularly, the department of La Guajira, which can become the great center energy of the country.
It is expected that this department will converge electricity transmission projects, wind and solar parks, and gas pipelines such as Ballena-Barrancas, through which green hydrogen could be transported to the center of the country.
The entity stressed that the energy sector is key to economic reactivation, since the new projects represent investments of 8 billion pesos and about 30,000 jobs.
“For this to be a reality, it is necessary to design public policies for public service infrastructure projects for a new allocation of risks in calls, auctions and tenders, where the Government assumes a more active role in prior consultation and environmental access rights ”, the entity stated.
ÓMAR G. SMOKED RED
Deputy Editor of Economics and Business
On twitter: @omarahu
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