Colombia on Tuesday officially launched its first bidding round for offshore wind energy concessions, part of efforts by its first leftist government to wean it off oil and gas production.
Energy minister Andres Camacho announced the conditions from Dubai, where he is attending the COP28 climate conference.
Reuters reported exclusively over the weekend that Colombia had significantly modified the auction's terms after companies and industry groups complained about barriers to entry and a requirement they team up with an unidentified state company.
"We invite investors the world over and those interested in the development of offshore wind energy to fall in love with Colombia and invest and contribute to this economic, social, environmental and energy transition," Camacho said in a statement.
The blocks are in offshore areas in the Caribbean, near the Colombian provinces of Magdalena, Atlantico, Bolivar and Sucre, the statement added, and "each project should be a minimum of 200 mega-watts."
The auction is set to be held in August 2024.
The government is targeting 7 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2040.
(Reuters - Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Mark Potter)