Colombia had 2,590.26 MW of operational solar capacity at the end of September 2026, equal to 11.7% of the net effective capacity of its National Interconnected System (SIN), according to the latest report from grid operator XM.
Solar accounted for 607.32 MW of new capacity that entered commercial operation in the third quarter. The 39 solar projects made up 87% of the 698.2 MW added across all generation technologies from July to September.
The increase brings operational solar capacity 996.18 MW above its level at the end of 2025, a rise of 62.5%. Solar’s share of total generation capacity grew from 7.6% to 11.7% over that period.
The third-quarter additions also included two thermal plants with a combined capacity of 81 MW and a small hydropower plant rated at 9.9 MW. XM said the projects encompassed distributed generation, self-consumption systems and utility-scale plants; three of the utility-scale projects are subject to centralized dispatch.
The largest solar addition was the 360 MW Puerta de Oro plant, developed by Patria Investments and brought into commercial operation in July. It has more than 511,000 modules and is expected to generate over 700 GWh of electricity annually. The plant represented nearly half of the solar capacity added to the grid during the quarter.
The SIN’s total net effective capacity stood at 22,196.2 MW at the end of September. Hydropower accounted for 13,229.16 MW, thermal power for 6,376.62 MW and solar for 2,590.26 MW.
Across the first nine months of 2026, 128 generation projects began commercial operation, adding 1,038.85 MW. XM also reported 140 projects with a combined capacity of 1,147.97 MW undergoing initial testing on Sept. 30. Solar made up 133 of those projects, totaling 1,083.6 MW, or 94.4% of capacity in the testing phase.
Projects in testing must complete technical and regulatory procedures before they can enter commercial operation. At the end of 2025, 98 solar projects totaling 1,365.6 MW were undergoing tests. By September 2026, the number of projects had increased by 35.7%, while their combined capacity was down 20.6%. XM’s published data do not specify how many projects completed testing and began commercial operation during the first nine months of the year.
Sources: pv magazine.