Renewable Energy News

Enel Completes Colombia’s Largest Solar Complex at 985 MW

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Enel Colombia has brought its new Atlántico solar park into commercial operation, completing a three-plant cluster that the company says is now the largest solar development in the country, with a combined installed capacity of 985 megawatts direct current (MWdc). The milestone, reported by Colombian outlets Forbes Colombia, Portafolio and El Tiempo on October 21, links the new Atlántico plant with the already-operating Guayepo I&II facility and the recently expanded Guayepo III.

A 256 MWdc addition in two municipalities

The Atlántico park itself adds 256 MWdc of capacity, split across sites in the municipalities of Sabanalarga and Usiacurí in Colombia’s Atlántico department. Enel estimates the plant will generate about 525 gigawatt-hours a year, output the company says is enough to supply electricity to roughly 3 million people — comparable to the population of a city the size of Medellín. Reported figures for the combined complex vary slightly by outlet: Forbes Colombia and Portafolio cite 985 MWdc, while El Tiempo describes the three parks as reaching 730 MWac (985 MWp), a reminder that direct-current nameplate capacity and the alternating-current capacity actually delivered to the grid are not the same measure.

Part of a much larger Enel footprint

With Atlántico online, Enel now operates six solar parks in Colombia spread across the departments of Cesar, Magdalena and Atlántico, with combined capacity exceeding 1,404 MWdc — a portfolio the company says represents around half of all centrally dispatched solar capacity currently operating in Colombia. The build-out positions Enel as the dominant player in Colombian utility-scale solar at a time when the country, like much of Latin America, is leaning on solar to diversify a power mix historically dominated by hydropower, a push that echoes policy support for solar seen elsewhere in emerging markets, such as Iraq’s recent move to scrap import duties on solar equipment.

Thousands of jobs, most of them local

Enel says construction of the Atlántico park alone created more than 2,500 jobs, with over 75% of those positions filled by residents of the Atlántico department — a detail the company has emphasized as it seeks support for further renewable buildout in the region. The project adds to a broader pattern of foreign and state-linked capital backing utility-scale solar across emerging markets, similar in scale if not structure to Norfund and Denmark’s state investment fund taking a 49% stake in Vena Energy’s 500 MW solar project in the Philippines earlier this year.

Why solar matters for a hydropower-heavy grid

Colombia generates most of its electricity from hydropower, a mix that has repeatedly come under strain during El Niño-driven droughts, when reservoir levels fall and the country has had to lean more heavily on gas- and diesel-fired backup plants to keep the lights on. Utility-scale solar, which needs no water and produces its peak output during the dry, sunny conditions that typically accompany El Niño, offers a natural hedge against that vulnerability — one reason Enel and Colombian regulators have pushed to add solar capacity quickly even as the broader buildout of transmission lines to connect new renewable projects lags behind.

Sources

Forbes Colombia, “El mayor complejo solar de Colombia entra en operación con 985 megavatios de capacidad,” October 21, 2026 — capacity figures, job numbers and Enel’s population-equivalent claim.
Portafolio, “Enel completa el mayor complejo solar de Colombia: tres parques suman 985 MW de capacidad instalada,” October 21, 2026 — independent confirmation of capacity and portfolio totals.
El Tiempo, coverage of the Guayepo III commercial operation milestone — alternate capacity figures (MWac/MWp) and project timeline.