Bolivia bets on the largest and tallest photovoltaic plant in the world, located in the highland town of Ancotanga, with more than 300,000 photovoltaic panels located on 214 hectares. The objective? stop relying on fossil fuels and project a future of renewable energy.
The big bet of the Bolivian Government is electricity based on renewable sources versus lower gas production due to the decline of some fields and in the absence of discoveries of new wells due to the lack of investment. Bolivia has signed addenda to its gas export contracts with Brazil and Argentina to reduce volumes in the last two years, according to the economic daily Gestion.pe in a note prepared by Reuters.
The national plan contemplates the substitution of fossil fuels so that Bolivia can export electricity from the Ancotanga plant, along with other similar plants and three wind plants.
Franklin Molina, Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energies, points out that the objective is to diversify the country’s energy matrix incorporating renewable and environmentally friendly energy sources to replace the consumption of fossil fuels. “As a country we have drawn a line to achieve a robustness of our electricity matrix,” he said.. “Our country has enormous potential in terms of renewable energy sources, the use is below 10% ”.
Bolivia has the installed capacity to generate about 3,800 megawatts (MW) and internal consumption barely reaches 1,600 MW, so plans to export electricity instead of gas are part of the country’s objectives, according to Minister Molina .
Given the large supply of electricity, the authority explained that the Government launched a series of tax incentives for the importation of electric and hybrid vehicles, and the installation of assembly plants for this type of vehicle.
Currently, the country uses solar, wind, hydraulic and biomass energy, but it depends mainly on thermoelectric plants (71%), that consume the natural gas that is exported to Argentina and Brazil.
“We are going to increase the available power of renewable energies and that gas that is currently being used for electricity consumption. it will be destined for export“Said the minister according to the Reuters note.
Natural gas production in Bolivia is around the 44 million cubic meters per day (MMm3 / d), 28% less compared to 2014, according to official data.
The former Minister of Hydrocarbons, Mauricio Medinaceli, considers that the Bolivian gas exports are going through a “very fragile” moment, because the country does not have the capacity to meet the demands of the Argentine and Brazilian markets.
In addition, the ammonia and urea plant requires Bolivian gas to produce, in addition to the cement factories, the industrialization of iron deposits and the delayed petrochemical industry, among other projects.
Subsidies
The problem for the Bolivian economy is not only to replace the use of gas with other energies, but also solve the state fuel subsidy, according to Medinaceli.
“The true reconversion of the energy matrix involves eliminating subsidies there is no possibility for renewable energies to compete with the price of subsidized gas, “he said.
The annual import of fuels costs the Bolivian State around $ 1,200 million annually, but it also loses about $ 300 million in the grant, according to official information.
“There is an excessive use of natural gas precisely because it is cheap. In that context, asking people to use solar energy or wind energy is very difficult because these energies are more expensive than a subsidized natural gas ”, added Medinaceli.
Bolivia bets on the largest and tallest photovoltaic plant in the world, located in the highland town of Ancotanga, with more than 300,000 photovoltaic panels located on 214 hectares. The objective? stop relying on fossil fuels and project a future of renewable energy.
The big bet of the Bolivian Government is electricity based on renewable sources versus lower gas production due to the decline of some fields and in the absence of discoveries of new wells due to the lack of investment. Bolivia has signed addenda to its gas export contracts with Brazil and Argentina to reduce volumes in the last two years, according to the economic daily Gestion.pe in a note prepared by Reuters.
The national plan contemplates the substitution of fossil fuels so that Bolivia can export electricity from the Ancotanga plant, along with other similar plants and three wind plants.
Franklin Molina, Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energies, points out that the objective is to diversify the country’s energy matrix incorporating renewable and environmentally friendly energy sources to replace the consumption of fossil fuels. “As a country we have drawn a line to achieve a robustness of our electricity matrix,” he said.. “Our country has enormous potential in terms of renewable energy sources, the use is below 10% ”.
Bolivia has the installed capacity to generate about 3,800 megawatts (MW) and internal consumption barely reaches 1,600 MW, so plans to export electricity instead of gas are part of the country’s objectives, according to Minister Molina .
Given the large supply of electricity, the authority explained that the Government launched a series of tax incentives for the importation of electric and hybrid vehicles, and the installation of assembly plants for this type of vehicle.
Currently, the country uses solar, wind, hydraulic and biomass energy, but it depends mainly on thermoelectric plants (71%), that consume the natural gas that is exported to Argentina and Brazil.
“We are going to increase the available power of renewable energies and that gas that is currently being used for electricity consumption. it will be destined for export“Said the minister according to the Reuters note.
Natural gas production in Bolivia is around the 44 million cubic meters per day (MMm3 / d), 28% less compared to 2014, according to official data.
The former Minister of Hydrocarbons, Mauricio Medinaceli, considers that the Bolivian gas exports are going through a “very fragile” moment, because the country does not have the capacity to meet the demands of the Argentine and Brazilian markets.
In addition, the ammonia and urea plant requires Bolivian gas to produce, in addition to the cement factories, the industrialization of iron deposits and the delayed petrochemical industry, among other projects.
Subsidies
The problem for the Bolivian economy is not only to replace the use of gas with other energies, but also solve the state fuel subsidy, according to Medinaceli.
“The true reconversion of the energy matrix involves eliminating subsidies there is no possibility for renewable energies to compete with the price of subsidized gas, “he said.
The annual import of fuels costs the Bolivian State around $ 1,200 million annually, but it also loses about $ 300 million in the grant, according to official information.
“There is an excessive use of natural gas precisely because it is cheap. In that context, asking people to use solar energy or wind energy is very difficult because these energies are more expensive than a subsidized natural gas ”, added Medinaceli.
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