Argentina launches thermoelectric power supply auction

Argentina’s wholesale power market administrator Cammesa has started an auction of thermoelectric power supply contracts.

The auction, branded TerCONF, seeks to secure 2.25-3.00GW of firm capacity under lot No. 1 and 30-70MW under lot No. 2.

Developers can submit generation or co-generation projects employing any technology, a resolution said. 

Cammesa would supply fuel to the plants.

LOT 1

Lot No. 1 involves three sub-lots: to increase installed capacity at existing combined-cycle plants, bolster supply in critical areas, bolster regional supply and efficiency, and bolster supply and efficiency in general.

Projects must use natural gas but have capacity to employ diesel or fuel oil for 120 hours of continuous operation. However, those connected to the gas transport network or located in zones with sufficient year-round capacity may be gas-only, the resolution states. 

LOT 2

Lot No. 2 involves projects to “replace, modernize and make more efficient,” the power generation park of southern province Tierra del Fuego. Officials are targeting the localities of Río Grande and Ushuaia.

Projects must be natural gas only. But those that cannot guarantee gas supply over winter months – when domestic gas demand climbs in Argentina – must have capacity to employ an alternative liquid fuel.

BID DEADLINES

Bids are due August 31 and projects are scheduled to be awarded October 10.

Cammesa has established a dedicated portal. 

Cammesa recently awarded power supply contracts to renewables developers under the RenMDI auction.

The country is ramping up natural gas output and investing in midstream infrastructure to debottleneck production in the Neuquén basin and substitute some expensive imports.

Details are available here, in Spanish.

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Cammesa has also published deadlines for priority dispatch transmission capacity processes under the Mater term market, where the likes of factories contract power directly from renewables generators under private power-purchase agreements.

Officials introduced associated new Mater rules earlier this year to help support investment in such projects, which have faced headwinds in the form of transmission congestion on the high-voltage network.

Full schedules are due to be published shortly, Cammesa said.

Reference A

Reference A is a new type of transmission priority dispatch under which Cammesa can award priority dispatch along congested transmission corridors to Mater projects, on the understanding that some output may be curtailed.

This month Cammesa published details of available transmission capacity.

The deadline for bids for Reference A transmission priority dispatch is September 29.

Incremental demand/new renewables capacity 

This type of priority dispatch will be awarded to renewables projects designed to supply fully or partially power to a future new client, such as a manufacturer. The minimum capacity of generation plants is 10MW.

The deadline for transmission priority dispatch for associated projects is September 29. 

New transport capacity associated with Mater projects

Renewable generation projects under Mater may carry out transmission capacity expansion work – and hence address congestion issues – at their own expense.

New capacity would be reserved for the corresponding project developer. The deadline for submitting associated projects is also September 29.

Details are available here, in Spanish.