Argentine province launches U$100mn pumped storage hydropower overhaul tender

Argentine province Córdoba launched a tender for a US$100mn contract to overhaul a 750MW pumped storage hydropower plant.

Officials want to recover the full production potential of the facility, Río Grande, which is running at around half of its nameplate capacity.  

The plant is operated by Córdoba's publicly owned energy firm Epec, which is leading the tender process. Works are expected to take five years and extend the lifespan of the plant by at least 40 years, officials said during a ceremony last month where the federal energy department signed an associated agreement with wholesale power market administrator Cammesa.  

The power station, which houses four Francis generation/pumping units of 188MW each, was built in the 1970s and 1980s and is the biggest of its kind in South America. Nameplate output capacity is 970GWh/y.

Bids are due September 29, according to a notice published in Argentina's official gazette. 

Tender details are available here and plant details here.

The future of Argentina's fleet of hydropower plants operated by the private sector under concession contracts is unknown as things stand.

Officials, meanwhile, also signed 11 contracts corresponding to projects awarded to Epec in Argentina’s last renewables auction, RenMDI. Epec won solar PV, biogas, landfill biogas and mini-hydropower projects. 

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The economy ministry has introduced a tax relief measure for the electric power sector. Purchases of foreign currency made for the importation of goods destined for projects linked to power generation have been made exempt from a levy know as the País tax. The tax for this type of goods was 7.5%. 

The measure, according to an annex document, impacts renewable energy projects being carried out by firms including Caucharí Solar, Arauco, Agencia de Inversiones de Neuquén, Genneia, Parques Eólicos de la Buenventura, YPF Energía Eléctrica, Generación Eléctrica Argentina Renovable, Vientos Olavarría, Energías Sustentables, Eternum Energy, 4Solar, 360 Energy Solar, Aconcagua, Ledlar, Surland Cuyana, Central Puerto, Pampa Energía and Solargen Ullum.

The full list is available here.

Argentina recently awarded projects under its latest regulated renewables power supply auction and has started a thermoelectric power supply auction. Projects under term market Mater, where the likes of factories contract renewable energy directly from generators, are also underway. 

The País tax was first introduced in February 2020, with funds raised earmarked for social spending and development.