Entering commercial operation at the end of 2024 in the municipalities of Ponedera and Sabanalarga, in the Atlántico Department of Colombia, Guayepo I&II is the country’s largest centralized solar plant. With its 780,000 solar panels, the plant has a capacity of 370 MWac, and among its main components are two 220-MVA transformers. This solar park tells a story that goes beyond numbers, highlighting a commitment to the territory and to the community that lives there.
This project also stands out because Enel – the developer – has signed a 15-year clean-energy supply agreement with Colombian brewery Bavaria S.A. Since 2024, the company’s beer production has been powered by energy from the park – clear evidence of how renewable supply is entering industrial processes.
A project that generates opportunities
Construction left an organizational footprint on the territory. The project investment exceeded 340 million dollars and, during the construction phase, more than 3,000 jobs were created, with a majority of workers residing in the Atlántico Department. To identify and develop skills, recruitment days were organized involving more than 1,200 people; together with SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje), 383 workers received training and operational certifications.
The project also supported social aspects with noteworthy results: the “Buena Energía para Tu Escuela” program reached 1,565 students (with classrooms, cafeterias, and playgrounds built), while 1,500 school kits and 30 tablets were donated, and a carpentry course for 77 people promoted the reuse of spools and pallets in a circular-economy approach. Improvements were made to the Martillo School in Ponedera (benefiting 720 students), and a recreational-sports park was built in Santa Rita (with about 1,500 beneficiaries). Volunteer activities and health initiatives reached more than 6,000 people overall.
Additionally, during construction, a preventive archaeology program was carried out: about 6.5 tons of ceramic fragments and other artifacts were recovered, along with funerary contexts linked to around 50 individuals, and awareness sessions were held in the schools of Martillo and La Retirada.
Taken as a whole, Guayepo I&II offers the image of an infrastructure that combines sustainable energy production with genuine engagement with the territory that hosts it. The initiatives carried out with local communities show how a facility of this scale can become part of the area’s economic and social fabric, contributing to its development.
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