La Luna power station

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La Luna power station (Complejo Termoeléctrico La Luna) is a shelved power station in Cesar, Colombia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
La Luna power station Cesar, Colombia 9.657608, -73.740011 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.

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Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 shelved coal - unknown 375 ultra-supercritical 2023
Unit 2 shelved coal - unknown 375 ultra-supercritical 2023
Unit 3 shelved coal - unknown 375 ultra-supercritical 2023

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Sloane Energy Group [100.0%]
Unit 2 Sloane Energy Group [100.0%]
Unit 3 Sloane Energy Group [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

  • Coal source(s): La Luna coal mine

Background

In July 2018, it was reported that UK-based Sloane Energy Group planned to build a coal plant in Cesar Department, Colombia.[1][2] Plans called for three ultra-supercritical[2] coal-fired units of 375MW each,[1][3] fueled with coal produced at Sloane's adjacent La Luna coal mine[1], where production was set to begin in late 2019.[4] The project had been registered with Colombia's national licensing agency ANLA in 2017.[5] Sloane's original plans called for the awarding of an engineering, procurement and construction contract by the end of 2018, with commercial operations beginning in 2022.[4]

In June 2018 Colombia's energy licensing authority ANLA granted the project its environmental license.[6] Construction was scheduled to begin in April 2020,[1] with a projected investment of US $1.6 billion[2] and commercial electricity generation expected by 2023 or 2024.[7][1] The complex was designed to use longwall mining methodology for a low-sulphur thermal coal to feed the 1,125 MW plant.[8]

As of July 2022, La Luna's environmental license remained valid, and the project had reportedly secured the necessary financing to move forward.[9] However, La Luna has not appeared in official Colombian government lists of future power projects since mid-2021[10][11], and Colombia's energy planning agency UPME does not anticipate construction of new coal plant capacity in any of its 15-year scenarios for the 2020-2034 period[11], so the project appears to be shelved.[10]

The proposed power station was absent from UPME's Expansion Plans for 2022-2037.[12] An update from Power Technology in July 2023 indicated that the project was still under development and was expected to come online in 2024, but no government or company sources were provided to confirm progress.[13] As of March 2024, the proposed Termoeléctrico La Luna power station had not been further mentioned in any publicly available government documents or other news.

2023: Colombia joins the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA)

In September 2023, Colombia became a member of the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) and thereby committed to "halting the development of new unabated coal power plants and phasing out existing plants to keep the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5-degrees within reach."[14] While the shelved La Luna power station had not yet been officially cancelled at the time of Colombia's commitment, it appeared unlikely that the project would progress.

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 El complejo termoeléctrico ‘La Luna’ ya tiene luz verde, Portafolio, Sep. 8, 2019
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Proyectan inversiones por 15.000 millones de dólares para el Caribe". País Minero. September 1, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "Las seis generadoras que se harían con subasta de energía". Portafolio. June 7, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Sloane to build efficient coal plant in Colombia," Argus Media, July 9, 2018
  5. "Actualización Reporte de Análisis Regional de la Zona Minera del Cesar (pp 5, 20, 24, 26)" (PDF). ANLA. December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "RESOLUCIÓN N°00911" (PDF). ANLA. June 18, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Con 48 térmicas se reforzará la matriz de generación eléctrica". Portafolio. June 3, 2020.
  8. "Energy Research & Consultancy". www.woodmac.com. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  9. Alfonso López Suárez (July 8, 2022). "Listas 12 plantas termoeléctricas en caso de que no entre Hidroituango". El Colombiano.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Informe de Registro de Generación de Electricidad: Ubicación de los principales proyectos térmicos vigentes (p 22)" (PDF). UPME. August 31, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. 11.0 11.1 "Plan de Expansión de Referencia Generación – Transmisión 2020 – 2034: Volumen 2. Generación" (PDF). UPME. July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. [http://www.upme.gov.co/Docs/Plan_Expansion/2022/Plan_Transmision_2022-2034_V6_scc_31ago2022.pdf PLAN DE EXPANSIÓN DE TRANSMISIÓN 2022 – 2037,] Unidad de Planeación Minero Energética, August 31, 2022
  13. Top five thermal power plants in development in Colombia Power Technology, July 19, 2023
  14. Colombia and Panama Join Growing Coalition of Countries Committed to Phasing Out Coal, PPCA, Sept. 19, 2023

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.