Enel Colombia has started commercial operations at its 256 MW Atlántico solar plant, located between the municipalities of Sabanalarga and Usiacurí in northern Colombia. The commissioning marks the completion of the company’s three-plant solar complex in the Atlántico department, with a combined installed capacity of approximately 985 MW.
The complex comprises Guayepo I and II, Colombia’s largest individual solar project at 462.4 MW, Guayepo III (266 MW), and Atlántico (256 MW). According to Enel, Guayepo I and II and Guayepo III recently increased their net effective capacity by 5 MW and 20 MW, respectively.
The start of commercial operations at Atlántico follows a testing phase that began earlier this year. In March, Enel announced that the plant had started supplying electricity to Colombia’s National Interconnected System (SIN), following the completion of grid connection infrastructure developed by ISA Energía.
The Atlántico plant features 403,920 solar modules across 34 arrays, mounted on tracking systems. The facility spans approximately 415 hectares and is expected to generate 525 GWh of electricity annually.
The project involved an investment of approximately $200 million. Its grid connection infrastructure includes a 3.5 km transmission line to the Sabanalarga substation, incorporating a 500-meter underground section.
Enel said construction of the Atlántico plant created more than 2,500 jobs, with local residents accounting for more than 75% of the workforce. The company also implemented training programs in partnership with Colombia’s National Training Service (SENA) to develop local workforce skills.
With all three plants now commercially operational, the Atlántico complex could generate enough electricity to meet the needs of approximately 3 million people, according to Enel.
In May, Enel announced that its installed solar capacity had exceeded 1 GWac, although Atlántico was still undergoing testing at the time and was the only one of its six solar plants yet to enter commercial operation.
Following the commissioning, Enel Colombia operates six utility-scale solar plants across the departments of Cesar, Magdalena, and Atlántico, with a combined capacity exceeding 1,404 MW. The company said its portfolio accounts for approximately 50% of Colombia’s operational, centrally dispatched solar capacity.
The projects have also received financial backing from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which disbursed the first $100 million tranche of a $200 million financing package for Guayepo III and Atlántico in July 2025.
Enel said the additional solar capacity will help diversify Colombia’s electricity mix and complement hydropower generation, particularly during periods affected by El Niño weather conditions.
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