Greenwood Energy seeks to revive wind projects that were stalled in La Guajira and, at the same time, expand its presence with new initiatives under development , in a strategy that combines the recovery of Alpha and Beta with an additional large-scale pipeline.
“ Our commitment to La Guajira is 2 GW ,” confirmed Marco Páez Saavedra, COO - Chief Operating Officer - Director of Operations, of Greenwood Energy , in an exclusive interview with Energía Estratégica.
The first step is focused on Alpha and Beta, two parks with a combined capacity of 504 MW that already have environmental permits. The company is currently working to complete the development phase and strengthen the environmental, social, and governance components necessary to bring both projects to a Ready to Finance stage.
That process will be crucial for mobilizing the planned capital. Greenwood estimates that Alpha and Beta will require around $1 billion in investment .
“ We want and hope to finish this Ready to Finance phase next year to achieve financial closure and start construction hopefully by mid-2027 ,” Páez Saavedra explained.
But Greenwood's plan in La Guajira doesn't end there. The company is also moving forward with another 900 MW of greenfield wind power , significantly expanding its future portfolio in the region.
“ The 900 MW are comprised of three projects with varying capacities that we are finalizing negotiations for ,” explained the COO (Chief Operating Officer). However, the executive did not clarify which initiatives would complete the remaining capacity needed to reach that overall goal.
For the company, however, the absolute priority is on Alpha and Beta , both because of their stage of development and the potential impact they could have on the Colombian electricity system. Páez Saavedra stated that both parks would represent between 3% and 4% of the national energy market and could begin generating power within two and a half to three years, if the planned milestones are met.
After years of stagnation, Alpha and Beta return to the center of the wind energy agenda.
The reactivation of both parks comes after several years in which La Guajira accumulated wind power projects that were halted, suspended, or directly discarded , amid difficulties related to social relations, transmission infrastructure, regulatory processes, and the conditions for sustaining large-scale investments.
In that scenario, the halting of EPM's E200 project added to other previously stopped developments and led to around 1,535 MW of wind power being left out of execution in the region , also considering initiatives from companies such as Celsia, Enel Colombia and EDP Renewables.
It is worth remembering that the reactivation of Alpha and Beta had already been addressed in an inter-institutional meeting headed by the former Minister of Mines and Energy, Edwin Palma Egea , who held the position until August 6, 2026.
Representatives from the Energy and Gas Regulatory Commission (CREG), the National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA), the Ministry of the Interior, Corpoguajira, and the Ministry of Environment participated in this space, with the objective of reviewing the roadmap necessary to complete the social and prior consultation processes linked to the advancement of wind farms.
In parallel, Colombia also began introducing regulatory adjustments to try to accelerate new developments. Among them is the Wind Energy Environmental License with Optimized Design (LAEólica) , designed to simplify the environmental permitting process for medium-sized wind energy projects and create new conditions to unlock capacity that has not yet reached the construction stage.
According to Páez Saavedra, Alpha and Beta should have entered operation in 2023 , but they went through successive delays until reaching a scenario in which their continuity was compromised.
For Greenwood, therefore, reactivating these projects could send a signal to the rest of the wind energy market in La Guajira . Páez Saavedra believes that another failure would not only affect the projects involved, but could also deepen the distrust of financiers and developers regarding the possibility of undertaking new initiatives in the region.
"If Alpha and Beta don't materialize, distrust in these types of projects in the region will increase," the executive warned.
Communities and Government, key to unlocking La Guajira
Greenwood's strategy goes beyond simply obtaining permits and securing financing. The company identifies community engagement as a key condition for making wind energy projects in La Guajira bankable .
Páez Saavedra acknowledges that the scheme will have to be specifically adapted to the Wayuu communities and that the model used by Greenwood with the Arhuaco people cannot be automatically replicated in other developments in Colombia.
“ With the Wayuu communities we have to build something special, something that is unique to them, with them ,” he explained.
In Alpha and Beta, however, the advanced stage of the projects and the available timeframes necessitate working on an existing foundation. The executive emphasized that the challenge also requires close coordination between the government, environmental authorities, agencies responsible for prior consultation, infrastructure managers, and private developers .
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The strategy draws on the company's experience with TERRA , its photovoltaic development in partnership with the Arhuaco people. The project includes an initial phase of 52 MWp , currently under construction, and Greenwood anticipates it will reach commercial operation in April 2027.
The company intends to expand that complex with new phases, although Páez Saavedra acknowledged that the availability of connection capacity became one of the main constraints for continuing to add power .
This same problem takes on a larger scale in La Guajira. According to the executive, the viability of new wind farms will also depend on the progress of substations, transmission lines, and regulatory and prior consultation processes associated with that infrastructure .
Therefore, Greenwood believes it is necessary to coordinate energy, environmental and territorial authorities, along with the agencies in charge of consultation processes and private actors seeking to invest in the region.
The goal is to create conditions that reduce the risks perceived by international capital. The company asserts that there is interest from financiers in entering Colombia, and particularly La Guajira , although questions remain regarding the capacity to execute projects of this magnitude.
“ They want to place them. We have to work together to create the conditions for them to happen, ” the Country Manager stated, referring to the resources of investors and financiers.
And he concluded: “ The communities have to believe, we in the private sector must believe, we must establish messages of respect with the people there and join forces with the government and all entities .”
PPAs of up to 20 years to support financing
Meanwhile, Greenwood is already working on the commercial strategy that could support the financing of Alpha and Beta.
“ For these initial structures, we are going with long-term contracts; we are in negotiations for energy sales under a structuring of PPAs for 15 and 20 years ,” Páez Saavedra specified.
The company believes this format offers greater predictability for funders at this stage of project development. This same logic explains why Greenwood decided not to prioritize its participation in the latest auctions while Alpha and Beta were still progressing toward a more robust financial position.
The goal, the executive explained, is to avoid making commitments before completing the necessary requirements to take projects from an advanced stage of development to a truly Ready to Finance state.
While accelerating that process in Colombia, the company is also beginning to incorporate storage in other markets in its regional portfolio.
In Panama, where it owns 40 MW of commercially operating solar power , Greenwood is moving forward with a project redesign to add batteries. The first phase is planned to add between 3 and 4 MW , with the intention of increasing that capacity later.
In their TERRA photovoltaic project, however, storage is not yet part of the initial configuration . The company's priority is to complete the photovoltaic plant and then assess whether batteries can generate additional value on the financial model.
The new renewable energy scenario takes center stage at FES Colombia
This scenario will be one of the central themes of the Future Energy Summit (FES) Colombia , which will take place on October 1st at the JW Marriott Hotel in Bogotá .
The meeting comes after a new market movement, with the contracting of 995 MW of solar and 100 MW associated with storage , in addition to the Reliability Charge auction that awarded nearly 1.8 GW of new renewable capacity with contracts of up to 20 years .
The processes also left unawarded capacity and projects ready to compete, so the continuity of the calls for proposals is beginning to occupy a central place within the sectoral discussion.
Companies such as Isagen, CATL, Terpel, Sungrow, SolaX Power, JinkoSolar, GameChange Solar, ISA Energía, Promigas, PV Hardware and Atlas Renewable Energy will discuss the country's renewable future.
Marsh, Nexans, Patria Investments, AFRY, Atera, Skysense, Alurack, TCL, CTG Latam, Vatia, Gotion, Yingli Solar, JA Solar and ERCO , among other companies, will also participate.
Towards the end, a panel with government representatives will address Colombia's energy priorities towards 2030, at a time when the country must define not only how much it wants to contract, but what signals it needs to offer to turn those future auctions into new firm energy available for the system .