According to Systep’s report, 406.1 MW will be solar, 174.6 MW wind, 146.3 MW hydro, and 22 MW biomass. In addition, according to the consultant’s projections, exceptional operating conditions are expected in the SIC in 2015.
In 12 months, 749 MW of renewable capacity will come on stream
As detailed in the Systep report recently developed by the consulting firm, 749 MW of new renewable capacity is expected to come on line in the next 12 months, of which 406.1 MW are solar, 174.6 MW wind, 146.3 MW hydro, and 22 MW biomass.
From the balance of Non-Conventional Renewable Energies (NCRE) for the month of December 2014, the report details, the energy withdrawals subject to the obligations established in Law 20,257 and Law 20,698 were equal to 3,555 GWh and, therefore, the current obligations of such withdrawals, equivalent to 5% and 6%, respectively, were equal to 180 GWh in total. In turn, recognized NCRE generation during December was equal to 455 GWh, i.e. 153% of the NCRE obligation.
Of the NCRE energy injections in December, most was generated by wind power plants (38%), followed by hydroelectric plants (23%) and biomass and solar (20% each).
Analysis of SIC operation
In January, according to Systep’s report, the operation of the SIC was characterized by a lower hydroelectric participation compared to December, decreasing from 54% to 43% between run-of-river and reservoir plants. The lower availability of water, together with major maintenance at the Ventanas 1 and 2 (120 MW and 150 MW), Santa Fe (67.2 MW) and Guacolda 2 (152 MW) plants, caused the LNG share to increase from 10% to 18% in January, and the diesel share from 1% to 4% with respect to the previous month, while coal-fired generation remained the same.
According to marginal cost projections made by the consulting firm led by Hugh Rudnick, exceptional operating conditions are expected in the SIC in 2015: Endesa’s El Toro plant will operate with its generation limited between May and November to comply with an agreement with the irrigators of Lake Laja; the San Isidro plant will not be able to operate at full capacity due to water restrictions, so Endesa leased AES Gener the Nueva Renca plant to burn surplus natural gas; as well as the ongoing shutdown of Endesa’s Bocamina II plant.
See full report here
