- This impact innovation initiative will bring solutions for rural electrification, in a sustainable manner and strengthening the productive vocation, to five territories in the country.
- The total investment will be USD 13 million.
- The objective is to boost the economy and improve socioeconomic conditions in the prioritized regions.
ISA, Ecopetrol, SunColombia and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the program “Energía Renovable para la Paz” (Renewable Energy for Peace), which seeks to bring energy service to the areas most affected by the conflict.
This is an initiative to develop renewable energy solutions with social impact, which will provide energy supply 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will also install productive capacities such as agriculture, tourism, and agro-industry for 1,800 inhabitants of five communities that today do not have quality energy, including Bahía Hondita in La Guajira, Santa Fe del Caguán in Caquetá, and La Victoria in Cesar, as well as two other territories to be defined.
The four allies joined forces to develop this disruptive business model:
ISA, as a developer of scalable impact innovation projects with technology-based startups, and with its experience in strengthening the productive vocations of the territories, through its social management model, Conexión Desarrollo. Ecopetrol, with the Strategic Initiative for the Integral Management of the Territory in its component of closing gaps in access to public services in areas affected by the conflict. And SunColombia, with its track record and capability in designing, installing, and operating sustainable power generation solutions in rural areas.
This experience and knowledge of the territory are complemented with technical and financial cooperation from USAID through a new profitable financial model -with a social purpose-, scalable and effective, involving the country’s energy sector for the supply of energy in non-interconnected zones (ZNI), with a long-term vocation.
The initiative will have international cooperation capital provided by USAID plus an investment from ISA, Ecopetrol and SunColombia for a total of USD 13 million, which will ensure sustainability and financial closing of the projects.
“With this initiative we respond to social and infrastructure issues and to the acceleration of the energy transition with scalable business models. Renewable Energy for Peace represents immense value for ISA as it brings together issues that we are passionate about: energy, territorial development, and innovation. “The combination of these capabilities allows us to create an impact innovation platform with which we are closing gaps in rural electrification, contributing to the increase in revenues and productivity of communities, and enhancing business models based on three axes: validity and corporate learning, shareholder value, social and environmental impact”, stated Gabriel Melguizo Posada, ISA’s Interim CEO.
“This project demonstrates that the fair, responsible and clean energy transition is at the same time an opportunity to improve the quality of life in the territories, promoting their agricultural vocation, the beauty of their diversity and landscapes, together with the talent, cultural richness and human quality of our rich Colombia,” stated David Riaño Alarcón, Chief Executive Officer in Transition Energies of the Ecopetrol Group.
“The alliance we are building today is one of the examples of the efforts we have been making for more than 12 years to guarantee rural energization within the territory. For SunColombia it is an honor to build a country hand in hand with great companies, but above all, it is an outstanding milestone in terms of social investment. “We are confident that this project is a great step towards achieving a just energy transition,” stated Juan Diego Gómez, Cofounder and CEO of SunColombia.
“With this alliance, USAID joins the potential and experience of large companies such as ISA, ECOPETROL and SUNCOLOMBIA, to bring clean and renewable energies to the communities most affected by the conflict, and in turn, support various objectives of the Colombian government: from its goals in energy transition and mitigation of greenhouse gases, to the implementation of the peace agreement. We hope to improve the quality of life of Indigenous, ethnic, and rural communities in these regions, and to position women as leaders in energy development projects. ”, added Anu Rajaraman, director of USAID Colombia.
This initiative contributes to the energy transition, as the generation of energy will be from non-conventional renewable sources, such as solar energy. It will also allow communities to improve their current living conditions with lighting, refrigeration, and access to information, among others, which generates better forms of productivity and economic livelihood.
Key figures
- Approximately 1,800 people with solar solutions that will generate clean and renewable energy.
- 1,688.75 MWh/year, which is equivalent to supplying 67 stadiums during a 90-minute soccer match.
- 391.4 tons of CO2 mitigated per year, which corresponds to planting approximately 11,742 trees in one year.
- USD 13 million total investment in the initiative.
