New entrant eyes Colombia’s solar boom – BNamericas

Posted on May 5, 2026 by Now.Solar

Solar distributor Bemco, part of the Energy Holding group, is aiming to deploy up to 100 megawatts of equipment in Colombia in the near term as it expands through a new partnership with China’s Sungrow, CEO Sebastiaan De Beyter told BNamericas.
The company is positioning itself to capture rising demand from residential, commercial and industrial users, as well as small solar projects that feed into the grid. This is the first of a two-part interview.
BNamericas: Why is Bemco betting on Colombia’s solar power segment and what makes the country attractive for investment?
De Beyter: We came to Colombia because first of all the market is growing. We believe that in South America, except for Chile, Brazil and Mexico, which are bigger and more mature markets, we definitely see Colombia being in that fourth position in terms of solar energy.
The market over the last few years, and especially last year and now this year, is really growing due to all the logical reasons like favorable policies. There is, for example, no VAT on solar panels and inverters, which makes it obviously more affordable to develop solar energy projects.
It allows companies to come to Colombia and distribute their imports into Colombia and makes all of that easier. There are also certificates that you can get from the UPME, which is one of the official institutions here that regulates the solar energy sector, that allow you then to get your VAT back. So there are a lot of different reasons why solar energy is booming in Colombia.
It is a country with a lot of sun. A lot of people obviously forget the most obvious reason, a lot of sun, especially here in the north. It is part of the reason why we as Bemco decided to install ourselves in Barranquilla. Barranquilla is really becoming a sort of small hub within Colombia for solar energy companies. There are obviously other bigger cities like Cartagena, which also have their own industry because of the port, etc., but for some reason everything that has to do with solar is kind of concentrating itself in Barranquilla.
BNamericas: Upon signing the agreement with Sungrow, Bemco said it had 100MW in available equipment for distribution throughout Colombia. Do you envisage Bemco achieving that type of volume in the near term?
De Beyter: I would say so. Last week we participated in the fair in Barranquilla, the ninth edition of Renovables LATAM, and we saw huge interest in the Sungrow brand. Sungrow had a stand at the fair, Bemco had a stand at the fair, and we were basically introducing Sungrow’s products to the Colombian market, and there was a lot of interest in those products.
Why do I believe the 100MW are achievable? Bemco is targeting three specific segments: residential, C&I (commercial and industrial), as well as the mini-grids sector, which is basically small utility. So mini-grids are small solar farms, small solar parks, which can generate up to 1MW. There is actually quite favorable regulation for those as well. You can get a permit and then you can basically build the mini farm and inject electricity into the grid. There are a lot of companies which are now focusing on those mini-grids. Sungrow alone has already sold multiple mini-grids in Colombia.
The solution that Sungrow offers with their 333 inverter is also super interesting for Colombian companies, as it is an inverter which allows you to get to 999kW, which is the closest that any producer is getting to that megawatt. So yes, I would say we expect to reach the target or the objective that we discussed with Sungrow by attending those three segments, but also by focusing on these mini-grids, which are already one megawatt, right? So I think that makes it achievable.
BNamericas: How important is the storage component to these systems, and what percentage of these solar systems would you anticipate having the storage component?
De Beyter: The percentage is tough to say, to be honest. I would not really be able to put a number on that. However, storage is not as developed in Colombia as in other markets, but we also see that there is more and more interest in these big battery energy storage projects. So the entire sector is growing. I would obviously say that it is not growing as fast as the C&I and the residential and the mini-grids sector, which in my opinion is really what is booming right now because of how attractive it is and how attractive the government has made it. 
But yes, we, for example, will also be importing batteries, at first more focused on residential, because as you know, due to the power outages, especially in the north of the region, and the instability of the grid, it makes a lot of sense for residents to back up their photovoltaic plants with batteries.
BNamericas: Just to understand completely the mini-grid idea, is this in line with the government’s plan for energy communities?
De Beyter: If I understand your question correctly, I would say yes. Mini-grids are also part of distributed generation. Basically, there you build a solar plant not to consume the electricity that you generate yourself. That is the main distinction between what they call autoconsumo here in Colombia and mini-grids. Mini-grids are really small solar farms being built in order to inject electricity into the grid to be consumed by the population. So yes, I think you could put it under the community aspect. I think that would make sense.
BNamericas: Do you see distributed generation taking off in the near term in Colombia as well?
De Beyter: Yes, I believe so. I think the policy is already quite favorable, but I think it can only become more favorable. It would only make sense if we want to push solar even further. At least that is what I hope. But I would say that the future is solar, and a country with that much solar radiation should 100% take advantage of that.
(The original version of this content was written in English)
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