The world is increasingly aware of global warming, caused by carbon dioxide emissions and other factors. This, coupled with pressure from environmental organizations, is leading to changes in energy consumption patterns. Specifically, there is a push for the use of renewable and non-polluting energy sources instead of oil and liquid fuels.

In this regard, the increased participation of renewable energies in the energy mix of different countries is one of the solutions being implemented to mitigate the problem of climate change. While our country is not a pioneer, our report will show that changes have begun.

Argentina is a country that has unbeatable conditions to develop renewable energies. However, as can be seen in the following graph, its development is still very delayed. More than half of the installed power being small hydraulic uses installed more than twenty years ago.

It can be seen in the following graph that Argentina is lagging behind other countries, even compared to Latin American neighbors in the development of renewable energies. They explain 1,0% of aggregate consumption, when the world average is 2,8% and in Latin America they represent 3,5%.

This delay may be due, on the one hand, to the high capital cost of generating renewable energy, which, once operational, will reduce expenses to a minimum. The opposite is true for a thermal power plant, which can operate with a much higher load factor.

The load factor is the relationship between the consumption during a given period of time and the consumption that would have resulted from the continuous use of the maximum contracted power during that period. It is used to determine if the power contracted by a company is adequate in relation to its effective consumption.

A prime example was the "GEREN" program, launched in our country in 2009, with the goal of incorporating 1 GM of electrical power from renewable energy sources. It offered very attractive prices, but less than 10% of the projects were actually completed, resulting in a resounding failure. The problem is that the biggest obstacle to the development of renewable energy is the regulatory framework.

Starting in 2016, hopes for renewable energies are renewed, and this is due to the regulation of Law 27.191, which establishes goals for the participation of this type of energy in the energy matrix. However, a Law is not enough to guarantee the advancement of these sources, but the change in the political cycle seems to have motivated investors, added to the correct design of the contracting forms.

The initial results are being more than encouraging. To learn even more about the current state of affairs, we invite you to deepen the analysis of the data, reading our special report that we make available below…