Roundup: Subsidy bill, US$1bn power line, US$800mn energy projects, oil firm wind farm purchase

Subsidy bill

The Chilean government’s subsidy bill advanced in congress.

Committee lawmakers approved pillars to help finance a temporary subsidy program targeting vulnerable clients impacted by the recent unfreezing of rates.

The draft legislation also establishes measures to spur installation of rooftop solar systems. 

Members of the lower house’s energy and mining committee greenlit a controversial funding pillar – involving using some revenue from the country’s PMGD distributed generation plants, which themselves receive a de facto subsidy – along with another involving the use of VAT obtained from the bigger bills that have started to land in mailboxes. Another pillar, which hikes a tax on fixed carbon emission sources to US$10/t from US$5/t currently, was recently approved.

The draft legislation moves to the finance committee of the lower house before going to the senate.

Transmission project

A US$1.15bn Argentine transmission project will be auctioned to the private sector, local media outlet Clarín reported.

Benefitting Buenos Aires province, the AMBA 1 line would bolster the grid and support the incorporation of new renewables capacity. 

End-users would shoulder the cost and an associated resolution – establishing project component priority and the financing mechanism – is due for publication, possibly within days, it added. The last administration had indicated China's State Grid would bankroll the work.

Argentina’s wind power association CEA, in a report, said AMBA 1 was a key project. The chief component is 500kV line Vivoratá-Plomer, which would support supply to Buenos Aires metropolitan area, or AMBA, by permitting the integration of 1,000MW of new wind power capacity in the Bahia Blanca-AMBA corridor.

Parts of Argentina’s grid are congested, limiting the incorporation of new clean power.

ALSO READ: Argentina's multibillion-dollar transmission gap

Transmission demand in Argentina is seen coming from two main spheres: works to bolster the grid and boost capacity and works to carry clean energy to mines, many perched high in the Andes mountain range.

The government has marked transmission as a top priority. The challenge is to devise a framework which enables private investment and financing.

Energy projects

Chile’s pipeline of permitting-phase power generation and standalone storage projects continues to grow.

Environmental review agency SEA received for consideration in recent days projects with combined required investment of more than US$800mn.

The biggest is the US$350mn Valparaíso region solar PV park Pullalli, planned by Cerro Blanco. The project involves installing 336MW of solar PV capacity and a battery storage system comprising 522 units, with 4-5 hour discharge duration. Battery container capacity is 2,752kWh, according to documents filed with SEA. Construction is due to start in July 2027.

Next biggest is the US$225mn Metropolitana standalone battery storage plant and power line, planned for Santiago metropolitan region by Eoliasur. The project, due to start construction in July 2026, involves installing 333MW of batteries with four-hour injection duration.

Next is OPD Energy’s US$200mn Vientos del Lago wind project. Planned for Los Lagos region, the project involves building 132MW of capacity. Installing a battery system is mulled, according to review documents filed.

The smallest is the US$45mn Algol standalone battery storage project, planned for O'Higgins region by Sphera Energy. Involving 65MW of capacity with five-hour injection duration, the plant is due to enter construction in April 2027.

Wind M&A

Hydrocarbons firm Pluspetrol has acquired wind parks in Uruguay with combined installed capacity of 170MW.

The assets, the Cerro Grande and Peralta I and II wind farms, are owned by the DIF Infrastructure V and DIF Infrastructure VI funds, managed by CVC DIF.

Pluspetrol said in a statement: “The acquisition of these wind farms marks Pluspetrol’s first step into the renewable power generation sector and forms part of its strategy to diversify and invest in sustainable energy sources. Pluspetrol will continue to explore opportunities related to the energy transition, reaffirming its commitment to promote sustainable energy development for the well-being of current and future generations.”

Pluspetrol’s administrative headquarters are in Uruguay. In the Latin American upstream segment, the company operates in Argentina, Ecuador and Peru.

In Argentina, Pluspetrol and state-controlled oil firm YPF expect to invest up to US$9bn at Vaca Muerta shale play block La Calera through 2027. La Calera is among the biggest gas blocks by output in Vaca Muerta. 

Pluspetrol, which bought shale assets being offloaded by ExxonMobil, is among the top 5 oil and gas producers at Vaca Muerta.