The Term Market for Renewable Energies (Mater) It is facing an encouraging scenario for the development of electricity generation projects oriented to the segment of large corporate users, with the growing demand of companies that seek to cover their consumption from sustainable sources and the offer of new generation projects that allow millionaire investments to be made.
The large number of projects that participated in the last round of the Mater for a total of 1728 Mwreflect the interest of the private sector in continuing to grow in the renewable field, with contracts that can be extended from 1 to 20 years and that no longer depend on the mediation of Cammesa.
The current promotion regime for the use of renewable energy of Law 27,191 establishes that all users of electrical energy must contribute to the objectives of coverage of renewable electrical energy, for which GUs greater than 300kW must individually meet consumption objectives. own.
Thus a market of 1,813 contemplated companies is opened, of which 349 are considered Large Major Users and another 488 as Large Minor Users which must reach 20% of their electricity demand from renewable sources by 2025.
In 2021, according to Cammesa, the energy contracted in the Mater reached 3,433,482 Mw/ha through 2,334 contractsa figure that could grow exponentially in the sector if there were availability of dispatch, that is, capacity in the transmission network to enable new generation projects.
Martin Mandarano, CEO of YPF Light, explained to Télam that the company generates 8% of the electricity of the country with an installed capacity of 2,483 MW, and in 2021 it generated 9,831 GWh, of which 85% were intended for all users in the country through CAMMESA and 15% industries and companies.
In particular, the company generated 7% of the country’s renewable energies: “We were the generator with the largest market share in the Mater with more than 30% of the market share, and we supplied 1,210GWh of renewable energy to important industrial clients,” he stressed. Mandaran.
As part of its generating park, YPF Luz operates three wind farms of which “Manantiales Behr is one of the most efficient in the country, with a capacity factor of 60%, and at the beginning of the month work began on the company’s first solar park in the province of San Juan, the Zonda solar park” .
“It will have 300Mw of total installed capacity that will be carried out in 3 stages of 100Me each, equivalent to the consumption of 140,000 homes, and will sell the clean energy generated to large users and industrial clients in Mater,” he added, for which YPF LUZ issued its first green bond for US$ 63.9 million dollars at a rate of 5% and with a final maturity of 10 years.
For its part, Martin Genesio, president of AES Argentina said in dialogue with Télam that “Resolution 551/21 together with its update through the Resolution 14/22 presented by the national government regarding the procedure for participation in the forward market, promotes the participation of the private sector in renewable matters”.
The reference is made to the reorganization promoted by the Ministry of Energy to normalize the status of the projects assigned in the different rounds of Renovar that have not yet entered the construction stage and the availability of more transmission capacity for projects that can be effectively built and marketed in the Mater.
In this context, Genesio highlighted that “the maturity of the projects that AES Argentina has in development, added to the changes implemented in the resolution, represents a new scenario for the company.”
“In recent years, the company focused on developing its own projects to meet the demand of customers interested in supplying themselves with renewable energy. This strategy managed to position us as leaders in the Renewable Term Market (MATER) with 34% of the share, excluding self-generation companies,” said the manager.
In 2021, AES Argentina celebrated the first anniversary of the entry into operation of its Vientos Neuquinos wind farms, located in the province of Neuquén; and Vientos Bonaerenses, located in the province of Buenos Aires, which are part of the Mater program, and for which it issued its first green bond in the local primary market for a value of US$48.4 million.
Finally, Gustavo Castagnino, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability of Genneia, assured that “The corporate market is playing a more active role in the search for a more sustainable profile. The demand from private companies has grown exponentially and today they are assuming the commitment to work to reduce their carbon footprint.”
“In addition -he understood-, sustainability today is more important for the private sector since they are beginning to focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in order to access more and better financing and not be left out of these standards towards the future”.
Genneia today represents 18% of the general renewable participation, its participation in the Mater is 7% and to increase its participation, it began this month the construction of the new Sierras de Ullum Photovoltaic Solar Project, destined exclusively to meet the demand of corporate clients.
The park, which will have 150,000 state-of-the-art bifacial solar panels, will be located in the center-south of the Province and will have a nominal installed capacity of 80 MW at the end of its 14-month construction period, which is equivalent to the consumption of approximately 50,000 homes.
“Undoubtedly, the renewable industry is a pillar of support for the private sector that today decides to move towards a greener profile. The trend towards sustainability is present in an increasingly insistent way and the main driver of growth in the coming years it’s going to be the corporate world,” Castagnino concluded.
