Mauricio Macri , the former president of Argentina, established several renewable energy expansion targets during his term to increase its share of the country's electricity mix. One of the major goals was for 8% of electricity production to come from renewable sources by the end of 2018. These efforts began in a context where Argentina was generating only 2% of its electricity from renewable sources.
During a visit to the expansion works at the Rawson Wind Farm in Chubut, Macri expressed his commitment to this challenge. However, this was only the beginning of a much longer process that evolves year after year in Argentina.
Argentina and its potential in renewable energy
Argentina is one of the nations with great potential for renewable energy, especially wind and solar power . As proof of this, Law 27.191, enacted in 2015, stipulated that by 2025, 20% of the country's total energy should come from renewable sources. To achieve this, it was estimated that at least 10.000 MW would be added to the Argentine electrical grid, requiring an investment of more than US$15.000 billion.
In 2017, with the launch of the RenovAr program, the nation closed contracts for a total of 147 projects in 18 provinces, contributing to the goal of achieving 20% renewable energy production by 2020. Although the 2020 target was not fully met, significant progress was made.
In 2024, according to data from the Wholesale Electricity Market Management Company ( CAMMESA ), Argentina experienced a 21% increase in renewable energy production in the first four months of the year compared to 2023. During that period, total green energy generation reached 7.507 GWh, driven by remarkable growth in the wind and solar sectors.
Key projects and strategic investments
One of the most important milestones in this process was the expansion of the Rawson Wind Farm, which increased generation capacity to 410.000 MWh , enough to supply the consumption of 137.000 homes. The investment in this project was US$40 million and is being carried out by the company Genneia.
Other notable projects include the construction of Latin America 's largest solar power plant in Jujuy. This plant, with the installation of more than one million solar panels , is designed to take advantage of the high levels of solar radiation received in this region.
Continuous development and future prospects
Over the past few years, there has been growing interest from both foreign and local investors in Argentina's renewable energy sector. In fact, it is estimated that by 2024, investments in energy projects will total approximately US$3.000 billion , creating more than 10.000 jobs. These investments are driven by the increased competitiveness of renewable energy, whose costs have decreased considerably compared to fossil fuels.
Another key aspect is the Renewable Energy Term Market (MATER) , launched in 2024. This market allows private companies to access renewable energy at competitive prices. In the first round of 2024, MATER received 48 projects with a combined requested capacity of 3.702.2 MW , demonstrating the growing interest in the green energy market in Argentina.
Wind and solar sector growth in figures
The growth of the wind energy sector is particularly noteworthy. During the first four months of 2024, wind farms generated 5.241 GWh , a 19,2% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. This represents almost 60% of the country's total renewable energy production. Solar energy also saw a significant increase, registering a production of 1.299 GWh , 19,5% more than in 2023.
Hydropower, although a smaller contributor, showed impressive growth of 57% compared to the previous year, reaching 607 GWh in the same period. These figures demonstrate that the diversification of renewable energy sources continues to increase, especially in strategic areas such as the Cuyo Corridor, South-Central Buenos Aires, and the Northwest region.
The commitment to the advancement of renewable energy in Argentina is not only focused on meeting legal goals, but also on mitigating the effects of climate change globally while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.