Total Eren wins job on 100-MWp solar project with Colombia's Ecopetrol

Colombian oil producer Ecopetrol SA (NYSE:EC) has selected Paris-based independent power producer (IPP) Total Eren to build a solar farm of around 100 MWp at the Rubiales oil field in Colombia’s department of Meta.

Total Eren said on Thursday that it has secured the assignment in a closed competitive situation. Its job will be to develop, finance, build and operate the Rubiales solar farm project.

The plant, featuring 180,000 monocrystalline bifacial solar panels, will be located in the municipality of Puerto Gaitan, where Ecopetrol operates the Rubiales field. The petroleum producer will off-take the electricity for its operations under a 17-year power purchase agreement (PPA), Total Eren said.

The French IPP will own a 51% stake in the Rubiales project, with Ecopetrol holding the remainder.

The partners expect construction to start in the first quarter of 2023 and plan to have the solar farm in operation in the first quarter of 2024.

Ecopetrol plans to make significant investments in energy transition initiatives in the coming years, including renewables for self-consumption, hydrogen, energy efficiency and carbon capture. The company’s goal for 2025 is to have 900 MW of renewables in the portfolio, split between 750 MW in operation and 150 MW under development, Ecopetrol Group president Felipe Bayon Pardo said.

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