Argentina power watch

The Albanesi group's Timbúes cogeneration plant has begun operation in Santa Fe province.

The US$181mn project has installed generation capacity of 170MW from a Siemens SGT5-2000E turbine, with plans this year to incorporate a recovery boiler, with all power generated to be sent to the nearby Renova agro-industrial complex.

Over the last two years, the Albanesi Group has invested US$616mn as part of its plans to expand its 1.6GW generation capacity through its 10 plants in Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, La Rioja , Buenos Aires and Río Negro provinces.

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Salta province's energy secretariat and the South Korean embassy's investment promotion agency have met to analyze renewable energies projects, with the aim of planning joint actions between Korean and Argentine companies.

The officials discussed the possibilities of developing renewable energy projects in Salta, the provincial government said in a press release, emphasizing current generation and the opportunities presented by the region in terms of renewable resources.

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Argentina's government has assigned "critical project" status to three wind parks, thus scrapping import duties on capital goods from outside the Mercosur trading bloc for their construction.

Chinese firm Envision Energy's Univiento's Cerro Alto and Vientos del Secano wind parks, and Petroquímica Comodoro Rivadavia's Bicentenario project will qualify for the tax break.

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Pampa Energía has signed contracts with Sociedad Argentina de Construcción y Desarrollo Estratégico for the construction of power generation projects to be carried out in the next year, the energy firm announced in a letter to securities regulator CNV.