New Initiatives to Boost Renewable Energies

1) Call for energy infrastructure projects

On May 9, 2022, Resolution No. 330 of the Secretary of Energy was published in the Official Gazette. It invites interested parties to submit manifestations of interest (MOI) to develop projects that contribute to add renewable energy to the grid and/or energy storage facilities in connection nodes that contributes reducing or eliminating supply restrictions and/or reduces the need for forced generation requirements and/or postpones the need for additional infrastructure works.

The projects will be divided in 2 categories: (a) renewable energy to reduce or eliminate supply restrictions; or (b) installation of batteries and/or other storage systems in renewable power plants and/or connection nodes of transport or distribution networks.

The Annex attached to Resolution 330 describes the information that must be included in the MOI; including a description of the preliminary project, remuneration or commercialization alternatives and estimated costs of the investments.

On the web site https://cammesaweb.cammesa.com/mdi-renovables/ you can download reports prepared by CAMMESA on (i) objectives and general concepts of Resolution 330; and (ii) the impact of renewable energy on nodes with thermal generation, listing indicatively the nodes with local generation requirements, their dispatch needs and reasonability.

The MOI must be sent by email to CAMMESA until June 30 and will be considered by the Secretary of Energy for the potential development of energy infrastructure projects.

2) Mechanism for commercialization of renewable energy for distributors

On May 16, 2022, the Official Gazette published Resolution No. 370 of the Secretary of Energy that approved the Mechanism for Commercialization of Electric Energy produced from Renewable Sources for Distributors (Mechanism). 

The Mechanism allows the distributors of the Wholesale Electricity Market (MEM, after is acronym in Spanish) and providers of distribution services to enter into renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) with generators, self-generators, and marketers of the MEM to supply their clients registered as Large Users —i.e., consumers with a demand equal to or larger than 300 kW—, called GUDIs, after is acronym in Spanish.

The terms and conditions of the PPAs —term, dispatch priorities, prices, and other conditions— can be freely negotiated between the parties (i.e., generator, self-generator or marketer and distributor).

The Mechanism complements the Regime for the Renewable Energy Term Market (MATER, after its acronym in Spanish) approved by Resolution No. 281/2017 of the former Ministry of Energy and Mining, as amended, which initially focused on Large Users of the MEM. Resolution 370 created a new market and incorporated GUDIs to the MATER, who will be able to purchase renewable energies through their distributors.