Coal-fired generation, which accounts for just 7% of Colombia's 13.5GW generation park, could become increasingly more important in the hydro-rich country, according to José Vicente Dulce Cabrera, advisor to the government mining and energy planning unit's energy planning department.
Coal played a small role in UPME's latest publication on the energy sector, Generation-Transmission Reference Expansion Plan 2008-22. Consumption has actually fallen in the past 10 years from 3.0MToe in 1997 to 2.6Mtoe in 2007, according to BP figures.
However, increased natural gas prices, which reflect declining production at the Guajira gas deposit, are providing a boost to coal, which will play a more prominent role in UPME's forecast this year. Natural gas-fired generators currently account for 13% of Colombia's capacity.
"We usually dispatch hydro generators, then gas and then coal," he said. "As a result, coal is not a very significant part of our generation. But this year, given Guajira's decline and changing natural gas prices, coal-fired plants have been dispatched more frequently."
That trend could continue as natural gas production is showing no signs of increasing and Colombia seeks ways to develop capacity to provide a backup for hydro. more
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