Colombia: Sun Position & Solar Panel Angle for 317 Places

Solar power in Colombia at a glance

Averages over 317 places with climate data, for a fixed array facing the equator.

Best panel angle7°average, facing the equator

Peak sun hours4.77a day on flat ground

1 kWp makes1,407kWh a year at the best angle

Off-grid angle4°average, for the darkest month

3.81–4.16
4.16–4.50
4.50–4.85
4.85–5.20
5.20–5.54

Peak sun hours a day on flat ground. Each dot is one place. 3 far-off places lie outside the frame.

The sunniest places in Colombia, with 5.54 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, are Santa Marta and 3 other places; the least sunny is Ipiales with 3.81. A 1 kWp array at its best angle makes from 1,140 kWh a year in Ipiales to 1,631 kWh in Santa Marta — 1,407 kWh on average.

The best year-round tilt runs from 0° in Puerto Leguízamo to 13° in San Andrés. Off-grid systems are sized for the darkest month and do better steeper, at 4° on average: at 70° that month brings 0.98 kWh per kWp a day in Mocoa and 1.39 kWh in San Andrés.

Size an off-grid system or open any place below for its sun path, monthly table and tilt curve.

Sunniest places in Colombia

Ranked by peak sun hours on flat ground: the yearly average of a day's sunshine energy (NASA POWER climatology). Output: 1 kWp at its best year-round angle.

Rank	Place	Region	Sun hours/day	kWh per kWp a year	Best tilt
1	Santa Marta	Magdalena Department	5.54	1,631	12°
1	Barranquilla	Atlántico	5.54	1,624	12°
1	Puerto Colombia	Atlántico	5.54	1,623	12°
1	Maicao	La Guajira Department	5.54	1,618	11°
5	Soledad	Atlántico	5.52	1,618	12°
6	Galapa	Atlántico	5.51	1,614	12°
7	Puebloviejo	Magdalena Department	5.51	1,618	12°
7	Ciénaga	Magdalena Department	5.50	1,617	12°
7	Malambo	Atlántico	5.50	1,612	12°
10	Sabanagrande	Atlántico	5.48	1,604	12°

Least sunny places in Colombia

Rank	Place	Region	Sun hours/day	kWh per kWp a year	Best tilt
311	Mocoa	Putumayo Department	3.94	1,171	3°
314	Pasto	Nariño	3.93	1,172	2°
315	Túquerres	Nariño	3.89	1,160	2°
316	Pupiales	Nariño	3.83	1,144	2°
317	Ipiales	Nariño	3.81	1,140	2°

Solar by region in Colombia

Averages of the places in each region, sunniest first. Darkest month: what 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes a day in the worst month of the year.

Region	Places	Sun hours/day	kWh per kWp a year	Best tilt	Darkest month at 70°	Sunniest place
Atlántico	19	5.44	1,593	12°	1.27 kWh	Barranquilla
Magdalena Department	13	5.41	1,582	11°	1.26 kWh	Santa Marta
La Guajira Department	8	5.34	1,566	11°	1.30 kWh	Maicao
San Andres y Providencia	1	5.33	1,566	13°	1.39 kWh	San Andrés
Cesar Department	15	5.28	1,546	10°	1.25 kWh	Astrea
Bolívar	17	5.24	1,528	10°	1.26 kWh	Mompós
Sucre Department	11	5.14	1,493	10°	1.25 kWh	Galeras
Vichada Department	2	5.02	1,463	8°	1.09 kWh	Puerto Carreño
Córdoba	14	5.00	1,454	9°	1.24 kWh	Chinú
Santander Department	14	4.89	1,463	8°	1.21 kWh	Cimitarra
Arauca Department	2	4.84	1,426	10°	1.13 kWh	Arauca
Antioquia	45	4.77	1,409	6°	1.22 kWh	Puerto Berrío
Boyacá	6	4.73	1,423	8°	1.18 kWh	Puerto Boyacá
Caldas Department	10	4.73	1,405	5°	1.20 kWh	La Dorada
Guaviare Department	1	4.72	1,378	5°	1.09 kWh	San José del Guaviare
Casanare Department	5	4.72	1,404	8°	1.10 kWh	Villanueva
Norte de Santander Department	7	4.67	1,384	8°	1.21 kWh	Ocaña
Cundinamarca	21	4.66	1,391	6°	1.15 kWh	Puerto Salgar
Tolima Department	19	4.61	1,370	5°	1.14 kWh	Honda
Amazonas Department	1	4.57	1,331	5°	1.16 kWh	Leticia
Bogota D.C.	1	4.54	1,356	6°	1.14 kWh	Bogotá
Vaupés	1	4.53	1,318	2°	1.03 kWh	Mitú
Risaralda Department	8	4.51	1,339	4°	1.18 kWh	Quinchía
Meta Department	6	4.51	1,335	6°	1.10 kWh	Puerto López
Quindío Department	6	4.47	1,326	4°	1.16 kWh	Circasia
Caquetá	3	4.37	1,281	4°	1.03 kWh	Puerto Rico
Valle del Cauca Department	21	4.27	1,263	4°	1.11 kWh	Caicedonia
Huila Department	10	4.23	1,252	4°	1.06 kWh	Neiva
Putumayo Department	4	4.17	1,228	2°	1.01 kWh	Puerto Leguízamo
Cauca Department	13	4.12	1,223	3°	1.06 kWh	Miranda
Chocó	3	4.00	1,168	4°	1.11 kWh	Tadó
Nariño	10	3.95	1,172	2°	1.01 kWh	Tumaco

Largest places in Colombia at a glance

Place	Latitude	Best tilt	Off-grid tilt	Sun hours/day (flat)
Bogotá	4.6° N	6°	0°	4.54
Cali	3.4° N	3°	2°	4.20
Medellín	6.2° N	5°	5°	4.83
Barranquilla	11.0° N	12°	11°	5.54
Cartagena	10.4° N	11°	11°	5.29
Cúcuta	7.9° N	8°	1°	4.60
Soacha	4.6° N	6°	0°	4.58
Bucaramanga	7.1° N	8°	0°	4.80
Ibagué	4.4° N	5°	1°	4.57
Santa Marta	11.2° N	12°	11°	5.54
Montería	8.8° N	9°	3°	4.97
Valledupar	10.5° N	12°	8°	5.23
Pereira	4.8° N	4°	3°	4.52
Manizales	5.1° N	4°	3°	4.68
Buenaventura	3.6° N	3°	2°	4.16
Bello	6.3° N	5°	5°	4.86
Pasto	1.2° N	2°	0°	3.93
Neiva	2.9° N	4°	0°	4.39
Soledad	10.9° N	12°	11°	5.52
Villavicencio	4.1° N	6°	0°	4.44

Daylight and clock time in Colombia

In San Andrés (12.6° N), the northernmost place, the longest day of the year lasts 12 h 52 min and the shortest 11 h 23 min; in Leticia (4.2° S), the southernmost, 12 h 22 min and 11 h 53 min. Colombia does not use daylight saving time: the clocks stay the same all year.

Time zone	Places	UTC offset	Clocks change in 2026
America/Bogota	317	UTC−5	no daylight saving time

Questions about solar in Colombia

What is the best angle for solar panels in Colombia?

Facing the equator, between 0° and 13° depending on the place — 7° on average over 317 places. Off-grid systems that must get through the darkest month do better steeper, at about 4° on average.

How many peak sun hours does Colombia get?

From 3.8 hours a day in Ipiales to 5.5 in Santa Marta on flat ground, averaged over the year; 4.8 on average.

How much electricity does 1 kWp of solar panels produce in Colombia?

About 1,407 kWh a year at the best fixed angle on average, from 1,140 kWh in Ipiales to 1,631 kWh in Santa Marta. These are long-term climate averages; a single year can be several per cent higher or lower.

Where is the sunniest place in Colombia?

Santa Marta (Magdalena Department) and 3 other places share the most sun of the 317 places: 5.54 peak sun hours a day on flat ground. 1 kWp in Santa Marta makes about 1,631 kWh a year.

Solar power in Colombia at a glance

Sunniest places in Colombia

Least sunny places in Colombia

Solar by region in Colombia

Largest places in Colombia at a glance

Daylight and clock time in Colombia

Questions about solar in Colombia

All places in Colombia

Amazonas Department

Antioquia

Arauca Department

Atlántico

Bogota D.C.

Bolívar

Boyacá

Caldas Department

Caquetá

Casanare Department

Cauca Department

Cesar Department

Chocó

Cundinamarca

Córdoba

Guaviare Department

Huila Department

La Guajira Department

Magdalena Department

Meta Department

Nariño

Norte de Santander Department

Putumayo Department

Quindío Department

Risaralda Department

San Andres y Providencia

Santander Department

Sucre Department

Tolima Department

Valle del Cauca Department

Vaupés

Vichada Department