Offering innovative, environmentally friendly products tailored to the needs of our customers is part of our business culture. In a dynamic energy market, diversification is key to ensuring long-term survival and success.
GRI (3-3) We recognize the fundamental role we have in the country’s energy revolution. For this reason, we developed a diversified generation matrix with innovative and efficient services, We guarantee the essential resources for the operation, and design and deliver solutions that increase business competitiveness and improve quality of life. Our offer includes distributed generation solutions, energy efficiency projects, efficient appliances and charging infrastructure for electric mobility. We support our residential, commercial and industrial customers through these lines of business.
Our Management
Some milestones of our management are
The expansion of a thermal district to residential units will help us connect more than 2,000 users with cold water pipes in the next 8 years, reducing the use of high GWP (global warming potential) refrigerants by more than 85%.
The MAMM cold generation system came into operation, based on the integration of thermal loads to:
- Optimize available capacity (90 TR).
- Address the museum’s cooling needs, replacing old and inefficient equipment that generated a considerable environmental impact and pollution due to the refrigerant they used (150 kg of R22 refrigerant).
- Optimize energy consumption close to 21,000 kWh/month, equivalent to 11 TON of CO2 emissions avoided.
The compressed air project at the Owens Illinois plant in Zipaquirá, which aims to guarantee the demand for this air from the new furnace installed in the plant and optimize generation with respect to the baseline, which is approximately 35% consumption.
In the context of climate change, we are committed to structuring projects associated with decarbonization, such as heating systems with environmental heat energy sources and electric energy sources with heat pumps, to reduce CO22 emissions and energy costs.
Innovative Business Solutions
The global economic situation is one of the greatest challenges for structuring and financing new energy efficiency projects, since there are macroeconomic factors that affect the business models developed so far. However, this is an opportunity to think differently and find other ways to provide solutions for our customers.
Presented below are some innovative business solutions and attractive proposals implemented for our customers:
Distributed Energy
Distributed Generation: PV, Micro-CHP, among others.
In 2023, we declared nine photovoltaic solar projects to be in operation:
- Five in Tolima: Melgar, San Felipe, Yuma, Dulima and Flandes, whose total nominal capacity is 69.5 megawatts for the department and are connected to the national interconnected system.
- Four in Valle de Cauca: Buga 1 with a 9.9-megawatt follower structure system, supplies energy to customers Solla y Grasas; the Palmira 3 solar farm, which provides energy to customers Zona Franca del Pacífico and Amcor, and the Victoria 1 and Victoria 2 solar farms, each providing 19.9 megawatts.
Home Storage Systems (<100 kWh)
We developed a minimum viable product (MVP) related to small-scale energy storage applications from grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems, to offer energy support services and optimize the potential of the solar resource in the Panamanian market. In Colombia, we have the capabilities to offer small-scale storage solutions with second-life systems, a much more competitive commercial offer in certain segments, in which these solutions fit. We evaluated the possibility of scaling this in areas without connection to the electrical grid (non-interconnected areas).
With the solar systems installed to date, we have ceased to emit approximately
Energy efficiency
Smart Appliances, Home Systems, Prosumer Services
We have a financial loan model for our customers to pay for their purchases of appliances through their energy bills.. We currently have more than 80,000 customers who take advantage of this benefit.
In addition, we give clients with photovoltaic projects in their homes or businesses the possibility to obtain income by selling surplus energy, turning them into “prosumers” of the system. This means they can produce their own energy for consumption or export it to the grid when they don’t need it.
Information Campaigns, Audits and Tariff Measures
In addition, we tell them how to access tax and tariff benefits to develop projects with said benefits. This year, we held 22 national events, in which a total of 76,000 people and 166 market leaders participated. We must highlight the launch of the solar farms in Buga with the companies Alianza Team and Solla, and in Palmira with Zona Franca del Pacifico, Amcor and Quimpac.
In 2023, our podcast El Cuarto Naranja launched, in which we talk about energy efficiency with our customers.
Energy Audits, Energy Management Services
Fuel Replacement
Click on each tab to learn more information
Electric Vehicles/Charging Networks
We are an iconic company in terms of mobility and charging infrastructure solutions. In addition, we drive the market for selling electric vehicles and guarantee the implementation of equipment for residential, industrial, commercial and public charging, in projects such as:
- The installation of 60 kW chargers in two industrial sites in Bavaria and two 60 kW chargers at Cárnicos Zenú.
- The installation of two double hose chargers, three 7 kW power connectors and one 11 kW connector in the El Tesoro shopping center, in Medellín.
- A public charging station in La Pintada with a total capacity of 150 kW, for electric vehicle users to be able to travel safely from Valle del Cauca to Antioquia.
- In our fast-charging segment, we reached more customers with 15 chargers with a total installed power of 720 kW: eight 30 kW chargers, six 60 kW chargers and one 120 kW charger.
- The launch to the market of the new Celsia brand electric vehicle charger. By selling our chargers, we achieved a market share of 45%, positioning ourselves as one of the companies with the greatest recognition in electric mobility in the country. We also increased charger and installation sales by 15% compared to 2022.
- Selling 1,991 vehicle chargers,
Heating Systems
We develop hot water supply projects using heat pumps, among which we highlight the case of the Fundación Cardio Infantil Clinic in Bogotá, in which we installed two 10 HP (120KW) heat pumps to replace a gas boiler. This change improved efficiency and reduced annual CO2 emissions by 85%.
We are currently in talks to expand this clinic project and develop a similar one in the Griffith food industry, which reduces the use of steam generated with fossil fuels and generates a decarbonization of over 80%, according to Colombia’s energy factors.
with the project of the Fundación Cardio Infantil Clinic in Bogotá
Muverang
We have four categories of electric vehicles: bicycles, skateboards, motorcycles and two-seater cars, which traveled a total of 3.3 million kilometers and avoided 523 tons of CO2 in the country during 2023. This is equivalent to 150 trees offset through electric mobility.
The vehicles that contribute the most to avoided emissions are motorcycles and two-seater cars.
The emissions avoided by employees mainly come from using bicycles and electric skateboards in their personal trips, which they previously carried out in private combustion vehicles. In 2023, they traveled around 1,657 km and avoided 0.33 tons of CO2.
in Colombia thanks to our electric mobility vehicles
Demand Management
Energy efficiency
Energy Audits, Energy Management Services.
We carried out over 12 audits focused on energy use for various clients, such as Bancolombia, Carvajal and Envases. These audits focused on detailed knowledge and optimizing energy consumption. They revealed that, in some cases, HVAC systems (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) represent more than 40% of plants’ total consumption. Detailed surveys were conducted to identify improvements to the chilled water system and other aspects and provided significant savings opportunities. Additionally, we proposed improvements regarding power quality at the facilities of several audited clients.
Lighting, Appliances, HVAC Systems, CHP
We are specialists in structuring projects for lighting changes and centralized controls to ensure savings and favorable investment returns for our customers. In the field of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), we execute projects that include equipment exchanges, network optimization, improvement in operational control and installation adjustments. Among them, we highlight the air conditioning at the Museum of Modern Art of Medellín, which served to optimize capacity and reduce power consumption. In CHP systems (Combined Heat and Power), the main focus is implementing thermal districts using gas microturbines to generate electricity and ice water. In 2023, the lighting system of the Unicentro shopping center in Medellín came into operation. In this project, we integrated measurement and control to establish standards and optimize energy consumption continuously.
Load Optimization
Tariff Measures, Contracts for Load Reduction
We worked on demand response programs and generated savings or additional income for customers:
- Efficient consumption: We installed high-tech equipment at Celsia’s expense, to have information on hourly customer consumption curves in different internal processes of the company. Based on this information, we defined alternatives to reduce customers’ energy demand through remote load disconnection at previously defined times. This generated savings for customers and income for Celsia, which results from sharing these savings.
- Paid disconnection: Customers make their energy demand available to the national energy market. In this way, they support the energy system, cover the firm energy obligations of generators or firm energy, and receive income from this availability.
Smart Grid Technology
We carry out various activities to advance the digital transformation of networks in the departments of Valle del Cauca and Tolima. Some key achievements are:
- Monitoring more than 140 photovoltaic plants, representing 350 MW peak.
- Implementing a photovoltaic laboratory to collect data through a digital network.
- Installing 312 fault pass detectors (FPD) in the distribution network, with tests underway for their integration into the control center.
- We improved network supervision through recloser devices, implementing a self-restoration system in seven circuits. We put a second digital substation into operation and collected meteorological data to improve decision-making in demand projections and abnormal grid conditions.
Micro-networks
We are making progress in developing business models with this technology and technical and economic proposals with clients for implementing these solutions in our laboratory. With respect to VPPs, or virtual power plants, we design use cases that involve deploying platforms to integrate resources and offer these services under a test environment.
Large-scale Storage (>100 kWh)
We have the technical capabilities and partners for structuring and implementing large-scale storage projects.. We are in the materialization stage of the first solar farm projects accompanied by storage systems.
Electric mobility
We worked on new technologies to strengthen the charging ecosystem for electric mobility in Colombia:
- With the installation of the public charging station in La Pintada, with a total capacity of 150 kW, we guarantee that electric vehicle users can travel safely from Valle del Cauca to Antioquia.
- We installed a new charging station for electric vehicles in the El Tesoro shopping center, increasing our public charging network to a total of 22 stations.
- In our fast-charging segment, we managed to reach more customers with 15 chargers, equal to a total installed power of 720 kW: eight 30 kW chargers, six 60 kW chargers and one 120 kW charger.
- In standard charging, we launched the new Celsia electric vehicle charger on the market. By selling our chargers, we obtained a market share of 45%, positioning us as one of the companies with the greatest recognition for electric mobility in the country. In addition, we increased charger and installation sales by 15% compared to 2022.
- Muverang has business clients and people. The latter are looking for flexible electric vehicle subscription models for their urban travel.
- 67% of customers are located in the city of Medellín, 29% in Bogotá and 4% in Cali.
- Muverang business clients are, for the most part, last mile logistics companies looking for cleaner and more efficient operations.
- The employees who most use this service are those who travel to headquarters between two and three days a week They use them because they consider these vehicles a different and comfortable mobility alternative, which allows them to save time and money.
- Muverang customers mostly make urban trips.
- For journeys of less than 5 km, they use bicycles and skateboards.
- In the metropolitan areas of Medellín and Bogotá, trips can be of 10 to 15 km due to long distances between the municipalities. In these cases, they use two-seater cars or electric motorcycles.
- The implemented mobility strategies had a good level of acceptance among employees: in 2023, 202 trips 8.2 km trips were made on average, mobilizing 19 employees. A total of 1,657 km traveled, and 338 kg of CO2 were avoided.
- This is how we contribute to reducing our carbon footprint with other sustainable mobility alternatives for the city.
- 3.3 million kilometers traveled in the four categories of Muverang electric vehicles (bicycles, skateboards, motorcycles and two-seater cars).
- 523 ton CO2 avoided per year in the country. This figure comes from the comparison with the conventional combustion vehicles people would have used for their trips, which they have replaced with electric vehicles. Those that contribute the most to avoided emissions are motorcycles and two-seater cars.
- The avoided emissions are equal to 150 trees offset through electric mobility.
- 1,657 km traveled by employees in electric vehicles, with 0.33 tons of CO2 avoided.
Internet
Internet connection to schools at no accumulated cost until 2023
EnerBit
It is our new digital energy seller. This technological intrapreneurial endeavor already has more than 7,000 customers and has developed a true disruption in the way of serving and interacting with customers in terms of product, service, monitoring and attention systems, allowing it to grow exponentially. It owns all its hardware and software, the work team is digital and, today, it obtains high ratings in service quality measurements.
Main Results
GRI (3-3)
Cardio Infantil Project. a heat pump system for heating domestic water that replaces the existing gas boiler. This helped reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 80% and provided savings in energy costs of 40% to the facilities.
The project to optimize the central air conditioning system for the MAMM (Museum of Modern Art of Medellín). The expected savings in energy and maintenance costs are 20%. It has had an economic and environmental impact through the elimination of refrigerants with a high impact on the ozone layer and global warming.
The Falcon project for implementing compressed air supply services for the Zipaquirá O-I Plant (Peldar). Equipment with an installed capacity of 13,179 Scfm, with an energy indicator of 5.4 Scfm/HP in low pressure (65 psi) and 9,467 Scfm with an energy indicator of 5 Scfm/HP in high pressure (84 psi). Improving the energy indicator of the current plant’s baseline by 30%.
The thermal district in the Gran Manzana shopping center in Cartagena, Colombia. A cogeneration system, since it is intended for generating electrical energy and producing thermal energy using natural gas with microturbines. It will help obtain energy savings of close to 30% in the generation and distribution of cooling.
Lessons Learned
To deliver innovative solutions to our clients:
We developed local partnerships that facilitated implementing solutions and allowed us to guarantee better execution times and responses to unforeseen events.
We stayed updated on Colombian regulations due to their positive or negative impacts on our projects and to keep our clients informed.
We strengthened reviews and intervention in the execution of projects to mitigate risks in their construction processes.
An adequate construction of the baseline in energy efficiency projects is essential to ensure their success and have a more precise measurement strategy in the structuring and detailed engineering phases of the solutions.
Relevant Fact
Celsia expands its international presence with the purchase of wind power project in Peru
Relevant Facts
Celsia expands its international presence with the purchase of wind power project in Peru
Topic / Indicator | Own indicators | CSA S&P Indicator | SASB indicator | GRI indicator | TCFD | External assurance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charging Stations Sold | C-ME1 | 1.9.1 | – | 201-2 | – | |
Muverang Vehicle Fleet | – | 1.9.1 | – | 201-2 | – | |
Celsia Customers and Employees who use Muverang | – | 1.9.1 | – | 201-2 | – | |
Kilometers traveled by our customers and employees in Muverang electric vehicles. | – | 1.9.1 | – | 201-2 | – | |
GHG emissions avoided by our customers and employees using Muverang electric vehicles. | – | 1.9.1 | – | 201-2 | – | |
Customers benefited by internet service coverage in each area | C-CI1 | – | – | – | – | |
Number of students and public schools benefited from free internet. | C-CI2 | – | – | – | – |
Contract – Awarded by UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization)
for the provision of implementation services for the pilot project to connect the Alameda del Jardín residential complex to the Gran Manzana energy district in Cartagena, Colombia.
Certification – Recognition from the Museum of Modern Art of Medellín
for the executed process.
MAMM: The Museum of Modern Art of Medellín.
TR: tons of refrigeration.
GWP: global warming potential.
CS: charging stations.
HVAC: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.
CHP: Combined Heat and Power.
UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
Muverang: A commercial initiative between Sura, Bancolombia and Celsia, which offers solutions for sustainable mobility such as skateboards, bicycles, motorcycles and electric cars.
Acolgen: The Colombian Association of Electric Power Generators.
AMI: Advanced Metering Infrastructure .
