Weekend Roundup: Norway's first offshore wind auction, Peru's $600 mn transmission networks, and more

Colombian company Interconexion Electrica (ISA) bagged two contracts to build energy transmission networks in northern Peru. The contracts, worth $600 million, will require ISA to set up 1,000 km high-voltage cables and have a concession period of 30 years. The annual cost of service, operation and maintenance has been estimated at $83.5 million. Peru has announced plans to achieve net zero status by 2050.

Equinor and RWE have formed a consortium to bid in Norway's first offshore wind auction. The companies plan to bid for Soerlige Nordsjoe II, where the Nordic nation is auctioning 1.5 GW capacity. The site is located in shallower waters close to the maritime border with Denmark, and Norway in June boosted subsidies for the project to $2.05 billion to reflect cost increases in the wind industry. Orsted, TotalEnergies, BP and Shell are also interested in the auction, which includes the Utsira Nord site suitable for up to 2.25 GW of floating wind.

Colombia, which scrapped plans for an offshore wind tender earlier this year, has set a new deadline of August 2024, according to a timeline published by the government. Columbia generates 70 percent of its electricity from hydropower, with wind and solar accounting for less than 1 percent. President Gustavo Petro has said he wants to wean the country off oil revenues, and more than 50 wind and solar projects have been proposed in the country since 2019, but none have become operational.

Portugal's largest utility EDP said it would generate more than 90 percent of its electricity from renewable sources next year, against 85 percent at present. CEO Miguel Stilwell revealed the new energy mix after announcing a decision to close one coal-fired plant in Brazil and three in Spain. EDP is also converting one of its two Abono coal-fired plants into a natural gas plant by the second half of 2025. The company also plans to install a 100 MW electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen in the future over there.