According to information from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the first stage of the program culminated with the installation of 100 renewable energy solutions for the Caribbean region, which will allow for reductions of between 50 and 70 percent in electricity bills.

The source also reported that 54 small businesses located in the northern departments of Atlántico, Magdalena, and La Guajira, where the state-operated company Air-e operates, have already begun the process of legalizing their photovoltaic systems.

According to the ministry, 15 businesses located in Barranquilla and Soledad (Atlántic) and affiliated with the National Union of Merchants can now begin selling the surplus clean energy generated in their own establishments to the National Interconnected System.

The institution added that this initiative, in its first and second stages, has an investment of 42 billion pesos (approximately 10 million dollars at the current exchange rate).

The first phase was 100 percent funded, and in the second, the beneficiary will be provided with an incentive corresponding to 60 percent, with a maximum of 20 million pesos (approximately 4,600 dollars) for the implementation of the solar photovoltaic system.

The Colombia Solar for Popular Economies project is being implemented in the country through the Energy Communities strategy, an initiative comprised of groups of people who generate and consume their own energy.

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