- Through this project, more than 20 families from the Buenavista District in the Municipality of Paratebueno, 230 km away from Bogotá, that did not have energy at home, will now be able to enjoy this service.
- The first minigrid of Cundinamarca (electricity distribution network powered by renewable energy) consists of a photovoltaic system made up of 72 panels, a bank of batteries and a diesel generator.
CODENSA, part of Enel Group, makes progress on its goal of providing energy to every family in Cundinamarca. To achieve this, the Company inaugurated and commissioned a new, cutting-edge technology system to generate and distribute renewable energy, known as “Minigrid Off Grid”. This system will now benefit more than 20 families living in a remote area in the Alto Redondo sector of the Buenavista District, Municipality of Paratebueno, which is located 230 km away from Bogotá, almost an 8-hour drive.
The minigrid system is made up of a 20 kV hybrid generation plant and its corresponding medium and high-tension distribution network which is 6 km long. Renewable energy is generated by a solar farm that consists of 72 solar panels of 310 Wp (watt-peak) each, providing 22.33 kWp of total renewable capacity, optimized by the storage of energy in a 24-battery bank with a capacity of 2,267 Ah/day. This has been designed to reach 10 hours of autonomy per day. The system also includes an 18 kV diesel generator which guarantees a reliable continuous energy supply to households. The system also includes the installation of smart meters to provide new, smart solutions that enable an advanced, digital access to electricity and improve the customer experience.
According to David Felipe Acosta, CODENSA’s manager, “Over the next twelve months, we will perform the corresponding measurements to assess the plant’s performance and our customers’ satisfaction, learn how the system operates and define the future feasibility of using this technology in other regions of the department or the country.”
Besides improving the quality of life of benefitted families, that will now be able to refrigerate food and use household appliances, this technology solution also powered the public infrastructure of the township such as the school, the chapel and the coleo pathway.
The installation of this minigrid responds to the difficulties of access faced by some areas of the department and contributes to achieving the business objective of offering alternative sources of energy and bringing this service to families that, historically, have not been able to enjoy it.
The project forms part of a solid plan developed by CODENSA, known as Cundinamarca al 100% (Cundinamarca 100%), which aims to increase electric energy coverage throughout Cundinamarca and bring the service to more than 8,000 households in the next four years.
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ABOUT THE ENEL GROUP – CODENSA AND EMGESA
CODENSA and EMGESA are part of the Enel Group, a multinational energy company and one of the main global integrated operators in the electricity and gas sector. The Group operates in more than 30 countries from four continents, generating energy through an installed net capacity of around 83 GW and distributing electricity and gas to a network of around 2 million kilometers. With more than 65 million users in the world, the Enel Group has the largest customer base compared to its European competitors. The Enel Group is the biggest integrated utility company in Europe in terms of market capitalization, and it is one of the main electricity companies in Europe in terms of installed capacity and reported EBITDA.
Codensa S.A. E.S.P. is a distribution and electric energy sales company, as well as a leader on the market, with more than 3,200,000 clients distributed in Bogotá, 116 municipalities of Cundinamarca, 6 in Boyacá, 4 in Tolima and 3 in Meta. Established in 1997, CODENSA has an installed capacity of 10,633 MVA (megavolt amperes) along 69,821 kilometers of high, medium and low voltage networks. The Company generates around 14,000 jobs both directly and indirectly in Colombia.