*(This piece was originally published in Spanish on Chequeado's website. The original post can be found here. The interactive version of the map is available on the original piece.)
During his speech before Congress, president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, referred to renewable energy projects in development. He claimed that “since 2016, 27 new renewable energy projects are in progress” and added that today there are an additional 98 energy projects being constructed, saying “In total there are 126 projects in 19 provinces.” What does the data say?
According to a report yesterday from the Secretary of Energy, there are 30 renewable energy projects in operation that were finalized during Macri’s administration: “With the rise in the system of solar renewable energy from La Cumbre II in the San Luis province, there are 30 projects in commercial operation with a potential of 795 MW and $1,220 million (USD) of potential economic benefits."
Official data indicates that there are 87 renewable energy plants in operation. This number also includes plants that began during the Kirchner administration, among others.
The government’s data on renewable energy corresponds with various projects, including RenoAr (which incorporates renewable energy into the electrical sector), MaTER (which encompasses companies and larger consumers of energy) and Resolution 202/2016, which executed 10 renewable energy projects that have since been completed. Summing all of the initiatives, there are 29 projects, according to the latest available government statistics, though there are now 30 due to the solar park that was finalized yesterday.
Chequeado consulted the Secretary of Energy, and they indicated that there are 96 projects under construction.
Nevertheless, there is no available public information to confirm that more than 90 projects are in progress.
The only data that is publicly accessible is the number of projects that are under development through government initiatives. In total, there are 206 renewable energy projects in progress. 147 are RenovAr projects, 49 are MaTER projects and 10 are Resolution 202/2016 projects.
Though various sectors of the Argentinian government have begun to highlight the benefits of renewable energy projects, experts are also vocal “[Renewable energy] is new and growing along with its development and expansion. As a result, it makes sense that there will be more development every year. This is not an indication that previous years have done less,” Cecilia Laclau, president of the Foundation for Electrical Energy said.
In addition, the decrease in electrical tariff subsidies acts as an incentive for renewable energy investment. “A system of subsidies is not as predictable in terms of return for investors. That is why, by reducing subsidies, the situation is more predictable and makes investors more likely to bet on renewable energy,” Laclau indicated.
Finally, it’s important to clarify that the number of projects are not equal to the number of solar parks or wind farms. For example, there are three projects in the Cauchari solar park in Jujuy that produces 300 MW of total energy.