A federal plan should be resumed.
"Something like RenovAr, in conjunction with provincial policies and private investment, that allows the establishment of new generation plants," warned Arturo Busso , Secretary of Energy of Corrientes.
During his participation in the federal meetings organized virtually by the Argentine Chamber of Renewable Energies (CADER), the official explained that RenovAr allowed new generation projects to be developed and implemented in his province - as well as in others around the country.
In the case of Corrientes, the two projects awarded in the national bidding program that are already under construction in the province are progressing successfully: "one of these 80 MW projects is already putting the first 40 MW into service, and the other is already testing boilers for an additional 17 MW," the Secretary of Energy reviewed.
However, he stressed the need to continue promoting these types of investments. Is a RenovAr 4 possible? Busso suggested that a program like RenovAr could be revived, with greater participation from the provinces, to the extent of their capabilities, and increased local power generation, taking into account externalities.
From there, he assessed: "The RenovAr program has fallen somewhat short in terms of the quotas for biomass." "If the national policy is to develop and incentivize national industry and technology, dry or wet biomass has enormous potential," he added.
It is true that the NEA region holds great potential for the development of bioenergy generation projects.
In Corrientes alone, some 550,000 hectares of planted forests would generate enormous appeal for this type of technology.
According to Arturo Busso, the provincial Secretary of Energy, "from what is being exploited in the forestry industry, we would have a potential of 400 MW of generation. How can these projects be promoted?" The Corrientes representative stated that national policy and regulations should consider the externalities of these types of projects because, even in terms of price, these technologies are not as competitive as other renewable and non-renewable alternatives.
That is why I believe that one of the keys that could leverage its development would be to value that production, beyond the use of electricity.
In the specific case of Chaco, during the CADER event it was reviewed that it was already possible to move forward with small biodigester projects for local producers with different degrees of impact.
"We are working on small-scale biogas, coordinating with the Ministry of Production of the province to promote projects for isolated producers (...) who also do not have access to natural gas," said Diego Felipe Bois , Undersecretary of Energy and Public Services of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Logistics and Public Services of Chaco.
And, referring to new national programs, he concluded by saying that "we require a long-term policy to meet our renewable energy targets (...) in 5, 10, and 50 years." https://www.energiaestrategica.com/chaco-estudia-disponer-300-hectareas-de-terrenos-publicos-para-parques-solares/