Barranquilla Advances Three Major Solar Projects with Combined Capacity Exceeding 12 MW

Construction continues at the APBAQ I solar park in the Juan Mina district, where civil works, substation upgrades, and metal structure assembly proceed simultaneously. The first phase deploys 7,620 solar panels rated at 700 watts each, delivering 4.2 MW to power the city’s entire public lighting network of more than 75,000 fixtures across streets, boulevards, parks, and public spaces. A second phase projects an additional 10,570 modules to add 7.4 MW, though implementation timelines remain unspecified. The municipal government frames the project as a strategic energy transition initiative targeting carbon footprint reduction, operational cost savings, and local workforce training in installation, maintenance, and renewable engineering.

The Entrepuentes community solar project launched in the southeastern district with investment exceeding COP 6 billion from public utility Triple A’s earnings. The 1,642-panel installation provides 1.18 MW peak capacity to benefit 700 households in strata 1 and 2, the lowest socioeconomic tiers. Infrastructure includes inverters, transformers, underground medium-voltage cabling, and perimeter security on land adjacent to the Pumarejo bridge. Mayor Alejandro Char emphasized leveraging the region’s solar potential for direct social and environmental impact, with the system projected to avoid 1,569 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. Entrepuentes represents the city’s second community energy installation.

Separate national government data from the Colombia Solar program shows residential rooftop systems in the Villas de San Pablo neighborhood delivered average consumption reductions of 62.6% and bill decreases of 56.1%, with individual cases achieving 98.1% cost savings. The program installed systems on 2,374 homes in that district, with 200 additional users receiving benefits in August billing cycles. Energy Minister Edwin Palma linked program expansion to disaster relief funding from El Niño drought declarations, targeting strata 1 and 2 households for accelerated installation. A second phase covering 7,740 additional users advances in parallel.

Barranquilla also formalized advancement of the Vientos de Barranquilla offshore wind project through a joint declaration with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and backing from the Danish government. Mayor Char positions the offshore initiative as leveraging Caribbean wind resources to reduce dependence on conventional generation, though the timeline and capacity specifications were not disclosed.