Solar-Powered Desalination Plant Inaugurated in La Guajira, Colombia
Project Year: 2025
Boreal Light GmbH, in partnership with Fundación Terrazul, Fundación Gespa e.V., and the German Energy Agency (dena), today inaugurated their most recent social initiative in the water sector at the Institución Etnoeducativa Laachon Mayapo in Mayapo, La Guajira. Supported by the Renewable Energy Solutions Programme (RES) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) , the project addresses one of the most pressing challenges in northern Colombia: affordable and reliable access to safe drinking water.
Impact
La Guajira faces chronic water scarcity, worsened by droughts, recurring El Niño events, and the absence of infrastructure for self-sufficiency. Many communities depend on unsafe or distant water sources, resulting in health risks, high costs, and unsustainable supply chains. To address this, the Berlin-based company Boreal Light GmbH has implemented a solar-powered brackish water desalination plant, enabling the transformation of saline borehole water into a reliable and affordable source of drinking water. The system produces up to 12,000 litres of potable water per day, operates entirely on solar energy without diesel or batteries, and features a modular, containerized design for easy transport, installation, and maintenance. A remote monitoring system ensures real-time performance oversight worldwide.
The project delivers broad social, economic, and ecological impact: it improves public health and social equity through reliable access to clean water, creates local jobs by training operators in system management and maintenance, and enhances climate resilience through 100% renewable-powered desalination that safeguards both local ecosystems and the global climate.
