Complete Guide for Mayors and Municipalities

This is the foundational law for solar incentives in Colombia. It establishes four tax benefits that, per the Playbook, reduce the effective cost of a solar project by up to 40%: a 50% income tax deduction of the investment over 5 years (Art. 11), exclusion of the 19% VAT on equipment and services (Art. 12 -- reduces CAPEX by ~16%), a 0% tariff exemption on equipment imports (Art. 13), and accelerated depreciation over 5 years instead of the standard 20 (Art. 14). These apply to all FNCER projects, whether the community is organized as a cooperative, association, or SAS (simplified corporation). The project is registered with UPME (Colombia's Mining and Energy Planning Unit) and obtains certification from ANLA (the National Environmental Licensing Authority); the process takes 30-60 business days.

Amends and strengthens Ley 1715. Art. 7 defines energy communities as "groups of natural or legal persons that associate to generate, distribute, or commercialize energy." Art. 8 establishes that energy communities can access all incentives under Ley 1715. Art. 15 creates the Program for Replacing Firewood and Coal with clean energy in rural households. And Art. 25 -- the most relevant for a municipal council -- authorizes municipalities to include energy transition targets in their Development Plans.

This is the national government's formal recognition act. It defines energy communities as legal persons and -- a key point for the municipality -- does not prescribe a single legal form: associations, cooperatives, Juntas de Accion Comunal (community action councils), community councils, indigenous cabildos, or SAS corporations all qualify. It establishes that communities can participate in generation, distribution, and commercialization, and creates the basis for their registration and monitoring. The Playbook recommends that municipalities start with a community association registered with the Chamber of Commerce (2-4 weeks), and evaluate conversion to a formal cooperative after 2-3 years of operation.

Published on April 6, 2025, this is the resolution that makes energy communities economically viable. It creates two figures, both with a maximum capacity of 5 MW: AGRC (Collective Small-Scale Self-Generation -- the community generates primarily for self-consumption) and GDC (Collective Distributed Generation -- the community generates for the grid and receives compensation). Its decisive contribution is virtual boundary aggregation: members do not need to be physically connected to the generation point, so a panel on a school rooftop can benefit households anywhere in the municipality connected to the same grid operator. The retailer is obligated to purchase all surplus energy. The estimated enablement exceeds 500,000 families with a target of at least 1 GW of additional capacity.

Creates the official registry of energy communities with the Ministry of Mines and Energy. It is the mandatory step to access public financing (FENOGE, IPSE, OCAD Paz), obtain official recognition, and report to regulatory authorities. The complete pathway is: (1) legal constitution, (2) Chamber of Commerce registration, (3) RUCE enrollment, (4) CREG registration as AGRC or GDC, and (5) grid connection application with the local grid operator. RUCE registration takes 15-30 business days; CREG registration, 30-60 business days at no cost.

Supplement: CREG Resolution 101-099 of 2026 (February 19, 2026) adds Remote Self-Generation (AGFR), which allows generating at one site and consuming at another through the National Interconnected System, with hourly compensation.