In Baranoa, Colombia, a medical cannabis company has just launched a solar farm to power part of its own operation. The project, presented by the Ministry of Mines and Energy as the first initiative of its kind in the Colombian Caribbean, brings together 147 solar panels, self-generated energy and medical weed cultivation under one agroindustrial model.
More than a technological curiosity, the initiative points to a convergence the Colombian government is looking to push more emphatically: using clean energy to modernize agriculture, lower production costs, and decarbonize energy-intensive agroindustrial sectors. In this case, the test case chosen to showcase that vision was not cattle, coffee, or sugarcane: it was marijuana.
The company behind the project, Cannabis Medical Company, operates in areas including the cultivation of psychotropic and non-psychotropic medical cannabis, plant propagation, applied research, and production under pharmaceutical standards. Now, it is also looking to generate part of the energy needed to run those operations.
Medical Cannabis and Clean Energy: The Baranoa Experiment
Located in the Colombian Caribbean, Cannabis Medical Company installed a 105.1-kilowatt-peak (kWp) photovoltaic system designed to partially meet the energy demands of its agricultural and production processes through clean, self-generated power.
According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the infrastructure includes 147 high-efficiency solar panels and is expected to generate approximately 178,670 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. That energy will be used to support part of the company’s agricultural, pharmaceutical, and processing operations.
As Minister of Mines and Energy Edwin Palma said in an official statement, “this is a project that requires a lot of energy, and in order to avoid the consequences of paying high bills and depending on the instability of the system, they decided to become independent and supply their own medical cannabis industry.”
In industries like medical cannabis, where energy costs can be significant —from irrigation and climate control to processing— generating part of their own electricity can translate into a meaningful boost in competitiveness.
The Government’s Bet: Medical Cannabis and the Energy Transition
The news also reveals something broader than an isolated business project. Colombia appears to be starting to connect two strategic moves that, until recently, had been running on separate tracks: the development of medical cannabis and the transition toward clean energy.
The government presented the initiative as an example of agrivoltaic energy, a model in which agricultural production and electricity generation coexist. The official argument is that, in a country with more than 40 million hectares of land used for agriculture and livestock, as well as high levels of solar radiation, energy generation does not have to compete with agriculture when it can actually strengthen it.
But the logic is also economic: reducing dependence on the power grid could help stabilize production costs in export-oriented and highly technical sectors. This is especially relevant for emerging industries like medical cannabis, which still faces regional competitiveness challenges.
Lower Emissions, Greater Autonomy
The project’s impact is not measured in kilowatts alone. According to official estimates, the solar farm could prevent around 35.7 tons of CO₂ emissions per year, reducing pollution associated with traditional sources of electricity generation and aligning with national sustainability goals.
Perhaps the story of Baranoa is not only about solar panels or medical cannabis. Maybe it serves as a small signal of something larger: a Colombian countryside where production no longer means just planting and harvesting, but also generating energy, reducing dependence, and rethinking agroindustry from a different perspective.
Because, at least for the Colombian government, the future of agriculture may be starting to take shape among solar panels and high-value crops.
