Enel X brings “Rays of Sunshine” to Frontera Energy in Colombia

The new photovoltaic project will power the Canadian energy firm’s local operations, cutting emissions and creating jobs.

Colombia

Frontera Energy

Energy

Enel X has been chosen by Frontera Energy to help the Canadian petroleum exploration and production company build its first solar energy park. According to the terms of the partnership Enel X will be charged with designing, building and assembling the plant, to be located in the CPE-6 section of the municipality of Puerto Gaitán, part of Colombia’s centrally-located Meta Department. The Ikotia solar park – the name stands for “rays of sunshine” in the Sikuani dialect – will boast an installed capacity of 7.85 MWp and will generate 11.38 GWh/year, enough to power the equivalent of some 56,000 homes each using an average of 200 kWh per month. The energy produced will be fed into the medium voltage grid and will be used to power the firm’s local offices and field operations, including crude oil and water treatment activities. Representing an investment of over $7.5 million, when operational the PV facility will help Frontera cut its CO₂ emissions by 8,215 tons each year, the equivalent to the amount absorbed by planting some 500,000 trees annually.

The client

Frontera Energy is a publicly-listed Canadian company operating in the exploration, production, transportation, sale and storage of petroleum and natural gas in Latin America. The firm invests in both upstream and midstream activities. It has participation in 31 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana as well as stakes in oil pipelines and port facilities in Colombia.

The agreement's benefits

8,215

tons of CO₂ emissions avoided

16,800

PV panels installed

7.85

MWp installed capacity

11.38

GW/h total annual power production

Enel X's challenge

Frontera Energy has chosen to reduce its carbon footprint by using solar energy to help power its offices and parts of its operations in Central America. By adopting a photovoltaic solution, the company is making progress on its sustainability goals.

Located in the municipality of Puerto Gaitán, part of Colombia’s centrally-located Meta Department, the infrastructure being built for Frontera Energy by Enel X will comprise some 16,800 solar panels, grouped into 402 photovoltaic blocks and distributed over eight hectares of land. Slated to debut operations in the last quarter of 2023, once fully online the facility will produce 11.38 GW/h per year of electricity, enough to power some 56,000 homes each using an average of 200 kWh of energy each month.

Frontera’s solar energy park will help the firm continue along its energy transition journey. It will also contribute to Frontera’s reaching its environmental sustainability targets by enabling it to reduce its annual carbon emissions by 8,215 tons, the amount of CO₂ absorbed by planting some 500,000 trees each year. Aside from its environmental sustainability credentials, the project also boasts important social sustainability benefits: some 85% of the workers hired to work on the project (both skilled professionals and lesser-skilled workers) are local, with women – who work mainly on the design and assembly of the solar panels – making up about 60% of total project employees.