The Energy Secretariat has regulated access for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to the tax benefits of the Medium Investment Incentive Regime (RIMI). However, the approved list of eligible assets does not include all the costs that determine the economic viability of a small-scale power generation project .
“It is a benefit that ends up falling short of what was expected or what it could have been,” said Martín Dapelo , secretary and coordinator of the Financing Committee of the Argentine Chamber of Renewable Energies (CADER).
Why? Resolution 161/2026 of the Secretariat of Energy contemplates hydraulic turbines, water wheels and their regulators , with powers greater than one megawatt and less than or equal to ten megawatts.
Solar power includes photovoltaic generators, alternating current equipment, and cells assembled into modules or panels . Wind power, on the other hand, utilizes wind turbines of over 700 kilowatts .
However, the regulation clarifies that support structures are not considered part of the eligible goods. Therefore, it excludes support structures, labor, and other tariff classifications.
“With the issuance of the decree, there was greater expectation that it would have a greater impact on cost reduction and improved repayments. It is a benefit that may help distributed generation a little in some cases, but with these components alone, it will not generate substantial attraction in the market,” Dapelo stated.
“It’s not that this will cause companies to accelerate their investments in renewables,” he added in an interview with Energía Estratégica .
The lack of structural components means that a solar installation cannot apply the tax treatment to all its components. Bases, profiles, anchors, and mounting systems constitute an inseparable part of the asset, even though the resolution expressly excludes them.
This limitation would reduce the effect of accelerated depreciation and the return of the tax credit on the overall cost.
However, it is clarified that the Undersecretariat of Electric Energy may modify or adjust the list , as well as issue clarifying and supplementary regulations. This delegation leaves open the possibility of expanding the positions at a later stage.
Even before the publication of Resolution SE 161/26, CADER had sent a proposal prepared together with its associated companies, which incorporated a larger universe of components and items necessary to develop complete installations.
“We didn’t receive a formal response directly. Therefore, we don’t know if the request was processed and if a correction might be issued later, or if it was simply ignored,” Dapelo explained.
The discussion takes place in a market that has accumulated 159.5 MW of distributed generation power installed under Law No. 27424 , distributed among 4,734 User-Generators who completed their installations.
The commercial and industrial segment accounts for 127.37 MW , nearly 80% of the total. The residential sector registers 12.65 MW, while government entities and agencies account for 10.86 MW, and projects included in other categories make up the remaining 8.65 MW .
Energy emergency and demand for a broader program
The implementation coincides with the extension of the energy emergency and an upward revision of price projections for 2026. For CADER, this scenario justifies a broader strategy that combines tax relief, financing and barrier reduction.
“We are still in an energy emergency and it is very good that all precautions are being taken to continue working and deepening the entire deregulation model, but we should have more comprehensive plans and programs,” the union secretary stated.
“So if we are in an energy emergency, there were external factors that greatly increased the energy price projections we had for 2026. What better way to encourage private investment than with a plan and program of benefits that is in line with the needs of the market?” he added.