{"id":50368030,"date":"2023-05-11T23:17:47","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T22:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.dialogochino.net\/?p=368030"},"modified":"2023-05-30T23:17:07","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T22:17:07","slug":"368030-small-solar-projects-help-to-power-argentinas-energy-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/368030-small-solar-projects-help-to-power-argentinas-energy-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"Small solar projects help to power Argentina\u2019s energy transition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A small town generating its own power, a city school equipping its rooftop with solar panels, and a company building solar water heaters that help to cut energy bills: small-scale initiatives across Argentina are showing the active role people can play in building a renewable energy-powered future<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, 84%<\/a> of the energy consumed in Argentina is generated using natural gas and oil, fossil fuels whose production and use drives global warming, and which can bring other harmful impacts on ecosystems, societies and their health. Generation with these fuels is concentrated among a handful of large companies, who often receive incentives and subsidies from the government for their investments in the energy sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local energy initiatives such as these in Argentina, on the other hand, present a way to reduce the concentration and centralisation of the system, as examples of what is known as distributed generation. This self-generation, which typically makes use of renewable sources, is aimed at supporting local or even household consumption, but also may see surpluses fed onto wider grids, allowing traditional electricity buyers to become producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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According to a report<\/a> on distributed generation published by Argentina\u2019s energy ministry in March, 1,167 self-generation projects have so far been completed across the country, with a collective installed capacity of 21.2 megawatts. They are connected to the wider network with bi-directional meters that track electricity entering and leaving the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pablo Bertinat, director of the Energy and Sustainability Observatory at the National Technological University, told Di\u00e1logo Chino that energy decentralisation projects can have virtuous effects: \u201cThey allow energy policy \u2013 that is, the study of how to use energy to improve the quality of life of the population \u2013 to be carried out at the municipal level, which is currently non-existent, and generate a strong incentive for participation and democratisation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distributed generation can also reduce the need for large investments \u2013 for example, in electricity transmission lines \u2013 as it focuses on local production for local consumption. It may therefore offer a useful, and timely, solution to some of Argentina\u2019s current difficulties, including energy poverty<\/a>, and bottlenecks on a strained transmission network<\/a> that are slowing investments in renewable energy projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pioneers in the transition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Armstrong is a small town of around 15,000 inhabitants in the province of Santa Fe. Its economy relies primarily on agriculture and related activities, such as manufacturing of farm machinery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electricity service in the town is provided by the Armstrong Cooperative for the Provision of Public Works, Services and Credit, which counts 5,000 members and oversees some 6,500 electricity meters. According to the Argentine Federation of Electricity Cooperatives<\/a> (FACE), such organisations provide electricity for 17% of the country\u2019s population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2013, the Armstrong cooperative submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to install solar panels in the town and generate its own electricity, instead of purchasing from the national grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Armstrong\u2019s plant consists of 880 solar panels and has a capacity of 200 kW, soon to be upgraded to 275 kW (Image: Cooperative for the Provision of Public Works, Services and Credit, Armstrong)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The project was accepted in 2015 and a public-private consortium was formed between the cooperative, the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) and the National Technological University, which received a subsidy from the government. It would become the first solar photovoltaic plant in the province of Santa Fe, and make the Armstrong cooperative the first in Argentina to use this technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur cooperative was founded in 1958 and was the first in the country to have rural electrification,\u201d Gustavo Airasca, the cooperative\u2019s technical lead, told Di\u00e1logo Chino. \u201cJust as we did back then, we are also looking to be pioneers with this project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the beginning, the solar project was designed in conjunction with the community. Workshops were organised to explain it, and saw high participation, Airasca said. \u201cThere were questions, such as whether the solar equipment was hail-resistant, what the installed capacity would be, the costs and the estimated lifetime,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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