South America - Argentina awarded wind energy projects for 745 MW

Out of the 1,000 MW that were offered for tender, 895 MW were awarded: 745 MW of wind power, 20 MW of solar energy, 10.6 MW of small hydro and 110.4 MW of biofuels for thermal energy.

The state-managed company Enarsa announced the results of the bidding that took place in May 2009 for renewable energy generation.

Originally, 1,000 MW were offered for tender. The 52 projects that were submitted by 21 companies will amount to a total capacity of 1,436 MW. The 32 awarded projects are equivalent to an overall investment of 9 billion pesos (over 1.8 billion euros) and a capacity of 895 MW.

The largest share of the newly awarded capacity regarded 17 wind farm projects, totalizing 754 MW. The other 15 winning projects included: 6 solar photovoltaic projects (for a total of 20 MW), 5 small hydro (10.6 MW) and 4 projects for plants that use biofuels (110.4 MW).

During the speech that announced the awarding of the bidding, which altogether involved 13 companies, the Argentine president Cristina Fernandez said that this was an unprecedented event in Latin America and particularly significant not only for environmental reasons, but also to diversify the country's energy supply.

Enarsa announced that there will be a re-bidding for 195 MW, including 120 MW of wind turbines, 30 MW of geothermal, 25 MW of solar thermal and 20 MW from biogas plants.

For more information please contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net