Argentina overhauls Mater term market rules

With an objective of helping ramp up renewables penetration, Argentina’s federal energy department has introduced multiple changes to the rules governing the Mater term market.

In Mater, large consumers such as factories request power from renewables generators which, in turn, seek priority transmission dispatch capacity from wholesale power market administrator Cammesa to ensure their clean output can be injected and commitments met.

Argentina has a goal, established in law, of obtaining at least 20% of power from non-conventional renewables by the end of 2025. 

Mater has been driving growth of the country’s installed wind and solar capacity amid an absence of regulated power supply auctions – which have only recently resumed via RenMDI – but a lack of transmission capacity is whipping up headwinds. Demand for private PPAs from corporates is healthy, driven by factors including price and supply security, decarbonization drives and compliance with local renewables targets. 

A focus of the Mater rules changes is tackling that problem.

Renewables companies are “in the position to build and finance the requisite transport expansion,” a resolution in the official gazette reads. 

Generators have been looking at ways to deploy peso revenues, with new-build Mater projects a key target. In addition, supply contracts of existing plants built under the Genren renewables scheme of 2009 are scheduled to end in the short and medium term. These generators should be allowed to transfer to Mater, the resolution states. 

The resolution introduces the concept of “priority dispatch for expansions associated with Mater projects.”

A key implication is that new transport capacity is reserved for the renewables projects that carry out the grid work – such as new lines and transformer station expansions – at their own expense.

Other changes include pumping payments for the likes of securing priority dispatch capacity into a pot for transmission works managed by Cammesa, and introducing a mechanism for projects in heavily congested transmission corridors that allows a degree of priority dispatch flexibility.  

Read the resolution here, in Spanish, for more details.

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Argentine province Santa Fe’s state energy firm EPE launched a tender for 20MW of solar PV capacity.

Offers for the work – which has a budget of US$62mn – will be accepted until 29 May, according to bidding rules.

Plants would be granted 20-year offtake contracts. 

Officials are seeking four plants of 5MW each in the areas of Arrufó, Firmat, San Guillermo and San Javier, respectively. 

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Argentina’s federal energy department is preparing an auction of 3GW of thermoelectric capacity, local outlet EconoJournal reported.

Plans include a combined-cycle plant at the Vaca Muerta unconventional hydrocarbons formation, it said.

Argentina, it added, may also establish a mixed ownership company to take over the running of three hydroelectric plants from August once their concession contracts expire. The plants – Alicurá, El Chocón and Planicie Banderita – are operated by AES, Enel and Orazul Energy. 

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Buenos Aires thermoelectric generator Dock Sud is seeking sought grid access for a 72MW combined-cycle expansion.  

Local generator YPF Luz recently said it would exercise its right to acquire power firm Enel’s 40% stake in the 928MW thermoelectric plant.

Dock Sud comprises 857MW combined-cycle capacity and two gas turbines for around 70MW.