Argentina has awarded a total 1.1 GW of renewable energy projects in its first auction round of the RenovAR program. Of this total, 400 MW of solar electricity projects.
The government has also announced a second round (“Round 1.5”) in November which will include a quota for 200 MW of PV projects.
The RenovvAR program, was formally launched this past May by President Macri.
Plan RenovAr will focus on developing sources of clean energy, especially solar and wind power, in line with Argentina’s commitment to the Paris Agreement to combat Climate Change.
“We must be committed to reducing carbon emissions, and Argentina has a lot to contribute and produce in terms of renewable energies,” said Macri. “Our country has enormous potential. We are among the leading countries able to generate solar and wind energy.”
PV Magazine reports the median price for PV projects awarded in Round 1 was around US$59.75 per megawatt-hour (MWh).
Three solar PV plants have been awarded, each with a capacity of 100 MW (Cauchari 1,2 and 3), which comprise one project in Jujuy Province. This 300 MW project in Jujuy corresponds to JEMSE SE, a partnership between Power China, Shanghai Electric and Talesun, as revealed by the Jujuy government following the opening of economic bids last week. Investment in the project is estimated at US$340 million.
The other PV project awarded, the 100 MW La Puna project, is located in San Antonio de los Cobres, in the Salta Province, located in northeastern Argentina.
Wind and solar made up 90% of the winning project in the first round of the auction. The government estimates that the 1.1 GW of renewable energy projects awarded represent an investment of US$1.8 billion, and the median price of the auction was around $59.6/MWh.
Developers submitted bids for 123 projects, with around 6 GW of potential. Of these 58 projects, with a combined capacity of 2.8 GW, were PV projects.
Argentina has set a goal to reach 8% renewable energy by 2017, ultimately reaching 20% by 2025.
The winning renewable energy projects from Round 1 are expected to provide 3.9 terawatt-hours annually, equaling 2.9% of Argentina’s electricity consumption. The government estimates when the Round 1 projects are put online, output will reach 5% renewable energy in its annual mix.
Round 2 of the RenovAR program is planned to launch next May.
Image via Google Creative Commons