The second phase of the 100MW Oruro solar plant in the Bolivian Andes is complete, meaning it is ready to enter commercial operation. The first phase (consisting of the first 50MW) was delivered in September 2019.
The $108 million project covers 208 hectares in Ancotanga (a small town 41 km from the city of Oruro) and is the largest solar plant to come online in Bolivia. It’s also the highest located solar plant at about 3,735 meters. It consists of 300,000 330-watts polycrystalline type panels and 19 inverters.
President Luis Arce Catacora inaugurated the second phase. During his speech, he said:
It is imperative for us to inaugurate this plant that was abandoned, left, by a de facto government that was not interested in the people (…) And we say from here to the world, to our brothers in Oruro and throughout the country that we are going to continue, and we are going to conclude all the works that we were doing for the benefit of the Bolivian people.
Catacora also highlighted that the complex’s operations would provide the department of Oruro with clean energy “absolutely guaranteed.” The plant can cover the entire Oruro department’s electricity demand – a population of approximately half a million people.
Franklin Molina Ortiz, minister of hydrocarbons and energy, said at the inauguration:
This high plateau soil is strong enough to generate the energy that Bolivians need, turning Oruro into an electricity-generating department with the capacity to inject 100MW into the interconnected national system currently. The solar plant is ready to enter into commercial operation, thereby increasing electricity available throughout the country.
The energy generated by the Photovoltaic Solar Plant will inject 210,000 MW per year of electricity into the grid, which is equivalent to displacing around 2,010 million cubic meters per year of natural gas (a conventional power plant’s energy source for electricity generation in the region).
Molina said:
This displacement of fossil fuel (will have) the environmental benefit of reducing greenhouse gases by approximately 112,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.
Bolivia has great potential for green energy production, including biomass, wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal. IRENA data shows that hydro currently contributes the majority with over a quarter of generation in 2018.
The country’s second-largest solar plant is in the southwest, in Uyuni, Potosi. Its capacity is 60MW. There are other solar farms with around 5MW installed in Tarija in the south and Beni and Pando in the north.
Molina said:
The reconstruction of our electricity sector is in process, and we will not stop; we are working to provide the country with the best possible infrastructure so that Bolivians can improve our quality of life.
The president declared that Bolivia is committed to clean energy generation and aware that today’s challenge has two parts: to respect and care for the planet and to generate economic, social, and productive development.
Latin America overall is evolving into a renewable energy powerhouse.
