AES eyeing partners for LatAm green hydrogen expansion

AES Corp could seek Asian partners for early stage Latin American green hydrogen developments amid regional efforts to jumpstart the nascent sector, executives said in a quarterly earnings call. 

The company has already completed feasibility studies for a US$1.5bn export-focused project in northern Chile, with a final investment decision due next year.

"Regarding outside of the States, I do see those projects going forward with Asian buyers stepping up as partners in the early part of it," CEO Andrés Gluski told investors. 

"We don't have a lot of money invested, other than development... that we've done. However, I think that it’s some of the best pipeline development that we have done because it's a particularly attractive asset."

AES Corp, which has wind and solar developments in Chile, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, has secured power purchase agreements for 3,538MW of installed capacity in the first three quarters of 2024. 

They include a 12-year contract for the 180MW Grisoles solar park in Colombia and 16-year deals for capacity expansion and storage components at the Pampas and Cristales solar parks in Chile. 

Meanwhile, AES said it expects higher rainfall in Colombia to boost group-wide Ebitda in 2025. 

The company's flagship Colombia asset is the 1GW Chivor hydroelectric plant, which reported a US$92mn year-on-year reduction in third quarter adjusted Ebitda amid a prolonged El Niño-induced drought.  

"Conditions are already improving," CFO Stephen Coughlin told investors. "I expect [Ebitda in] the fourth quarter to be higher and all forecasts point to La Niña being probable in the coming months and going into next year."

He said Chivor's financials had also been impacted by a 38-day outage for planned maintenance work in June and July.