Colombia

Background

To help realise the clean energy ambition in the LAC region and enable the necessary mobilisation of finance and investment to support implementation of clean energy projects, governments throughout LAC have established high-level policies, many of which are focused on clean energy solutions like sustainable bioenergy and waste-to-energy as key parts of national decarbonisation strategies and objectives. These solutions can also achieve a number of other socio-economic benefits, including improved reliability of energy supply, improved access to affordable and reliable energy in areas that are not connected to the national electricity grid, and reduced amounts of waste going to capacity-limited landfills.

However, projects often lack access to financing to bring a feasible project to development, as identified in the report Enabling conditions for bioenergy finance and investment in Colombia. Many banking or finance institutions also lack the knowledge and tools to evaluate energy projects that may utilise technologies or energy sources they are less familiar with.  

Overview

This workshop aims to help bridge the gap between investment-ready bioenergy projects in the LAC region and clean energy financing. This will be achieved by creating a space for both project developers and finance institutions to present their perspectives, priorities and challenges, and facilitating an opportunity for matchmaking via a project pitching and panel feedback session. 

The target audience for this workshop is bioenergy project developers, interested finance institutions, international co-operation agencies, donors, development partners, and other stakeholders involved in the development of bioenergy projects. The workshop is also aimed at the LEDS LAC Bioenergy Community of Practice network and other bioenergy platforms.

• Watch the video recording of the event
  

Speakers

Welcome and opening remarks

• Aida Figari, LEDS-LAC
• Cecilia Tam, Team Leader, Clean Energy Finance and Investment Mobilisation, OECD
  
  

Session 1: The context for new bionenergy project development

Presenters

• Luiz Horta, Universidade Federal de Itajuba Brazil: "Biofuels: some facts and prospects"
• Jinlei Feng, IRENA: "Bioenergy consumption and policy needs in Latin America and Caribbean"
  
  

Panel: Challenges for bioenergy investment

Moderator: Aida Lorenzo, LEDS LAC Bioenergy Community of Practice Coordinator

• Michaela Morese, Global Bioenergy Partnership Secretariat, FAO
• Ana María Majano, Coordinator for communities of practice, LEDS LAC Platform: "Barriers to biogas investments: lessons learned from BioE CoP's technical assistance to Colombia and Honduras"
• Agustín Torroba, Biofuels and Renewable Energy Specialist, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA): "Challenges for biofuel development in Latin America"
• Catalina Cano Zapata, Vice President of Innovation and Sustainability, Bancolombia
  
  

Session 2: Succes stories for bioenergy project development in LAC

Panel: Successful, commercially-financed and implemented bioenergy projects

Moderator: Daniella Rough, NREL/GCAP

• Javier Castellanos, Agrogeneradora, Guatemala: "Biofuels: some facts and prospects"
• Manuel Ron, Bio4: "Biofuels in Argentina"
• Julieth Lombo, Refoenergy Colombia: "Biomass rural electrification project"
  
  

Session 3: The finance and investment landscape for bioenergy project development

Panel: Financial sector and development partners supporting bioenergy

Moderator: Lylah Davies, Policy Analyst, OECD

• Gerard Ostheimer, Biofuture Platform  
• Artur Milanez, Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES)
• Ludmila Diniz, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 
• Alejandro Miranda, CAF, Development Bank of Latin America 
  
  

Final comments, key takeaways and next steps

• Deger Saygin, Policy Analyst, OECD
• Aida Lorenzo, LEDS LAC Bioenergy Community of Practice Coordinator: "Finance and investment mobilisation for bioenergy projects in LAC"