Dialogue Earth spoke with several senior figures both from ESPE and the mining sector, who see the renewable energy generation and clean-tech manufacturing as a strong complement for the mining sector in the province. \u201cWe have some of the best [solar] radiation<\/a> in the world. We can become a node of the renewable industry here,\u201d says Estrada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of the sunshine and political decisions, just over 66% of installed capacity for San Juan\u2019s electricity grid is solar, according to data from Cammesa<\/a>, which manages Argentina\u2019s wholesale electricity market, compiled by Dialogue Earth. The rest is divided between large and, to a lesser extent, small hydro projects, and a single thermal power plant<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 2017<\/a>, San Juan has moved from being an importer of electricity to a net exporter. Estrada notes that there is a surplus of electricity generated by the end of the day. However, the province is now looking to increase supply even more \u2013 mainly for mining, which requires large amounts of energy. This is laid out in the San Juan Solar Project<\/a>, the government\u2019s comprehensive plan<\/a> launched in 2007 to capitalise on the area\u2019s ample sunlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He lists the milestones that have since been achieved, including completion of the first wind farm<\/a>, the solar and wind maps<\/a> of the province, and the upcoming solar panel factory. \u201c<\/strong>We will be transforming San Juan\u2019s economy to invest mining resources in renewable energy,\u201d Estrada says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) park in South America was built in the province in 2011<\/a>. Currently, there are 21 solar parks<\/a> in operation and five under construction. The majority of them have been built in partnership with private companies: the province rents the land, and the companies build and manage the operation. The original intention with the solar panel factory was for private companies to supply part of the infrastructure and thus lower the costs of expanding San Juan\u2019s existing grid. But Estrada says the province now also intends to export certain components made there and build an import-export relationship with strategic players, in particular China, Europe and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new factory, located in the province\u2019s namesake capital city, will first produce solar panels from imported materials, and then cells, silicon ingots and wafers. Ingots are the raw materials, cut and processed to form wafers, that are then manufactured into cells. Each cell is interconnected to form a panel, which transforms sunlight into electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n San Juan plans to produce 800,000<\/a> panels per year, with a total capacity of 450 megawatts (MW). \u201cIn fact, our plan is to double production in the short term, to become a \u2018gigafactory\u2019,\u201d says Estrada. \u201cThe building is designed so that it will be possible to double the machinery and reach 1 gigawatt (GW) in the near future.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The factory is divided into two: the solar panel facility and the ingot, wafer and cell facility. On a tour in April, Dialogue Earth observed that progress on the panel facility was almost complete. \u201cWe are testing the quality of one last machine and it could start producing soon,\u201d says Estrada, adding that this was tentatively in September. EPSE had previously announced<\/a> it would be scheduled for April. The second facility, for producing cells, is expected to follow later on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin Dapelo, a member of the board of directors of the Argentine Chamber of Renewable Energies (Cader), notes that solar cell production would be new to the region: \u201cThere are laminators in Brazil, but I don\u2019t know of any cell factories in Latin America,\u201d he says. For now, the solar cells needed to assemble the panels will be imported mainly from China. Other related components such as batteries and current converters will also be imported from China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EPSE\u2019s solar project \u2013 and the company itself \u2013 are inextricable from China\u2019s role in the global renewables market, and particularly the solar PV industry. San Juan, like the rest of Argentina and the region, imports all PV infrastructure components almost exclusively from China. In fact, 99% of solar panels imported to Latin America originated there in 2023, according to The Economist<\/a>. It will be an almost entirely automated factory and require around 110 workers, Estrada says. Most of the staff will be \u201chighly skilled in operation, maintenance and robot programming\u201d, he adds, claiming that it will also create many more indirect jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The state-owned company has partnered with H2 Gemini<\/a>, a Swiss company that builds machines to produce solar panels. \u201cBoth [H2 Gemini] and other external consultants [from the United States and Australia] have visited us, and we have travelled to train ourselves,\u201d says Estrada, who adds that employees have also travelled to China for training and that the relationship with the country is strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Estrada says that, within a global framework of trade tensions, San Juan is navigating carefully between its Chinese and US partners. The factory\u2019s components and equipment will be sourced largely from Chinese materials, while he hopes to sign agreements with the US to import silicon for the ingots and wafers. \u201cEventually, we also intend to export to the US,\u201d Estrada says. Despite acknowledging that they could not compete with Chinese prices at the moment, he says the tariff war positions San Juan as a strategic player: \u201cThey need a lot of factories outside of China and there really aren\u2019t many high-quality panel factories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250425_solar-farm-mountains_EPSE-plant_SanJuan_Argentina_Matias-Avramow.jpg\")
<\/div>The factory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250425_ingot-wafer-factory_EPSE-plant_SanJuan_Argentina_Matias-Avramow.jpg\")
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Power China<\/a> is the main supplier, although San Juan also has relationships with Huawei for power converters, Risen Energy for storage, and ConfirmWare for factory machinery, Estrada notes. He adds that despite importing most of the materials from China, the plant could still lower the cost of the final product by 10-15% compared to importing from the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250425_robotic-arm_EPSE-plant_SanJuan_Argentina_Matias-Avramow.jpg\")
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