The Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy of Ecuador has received 10 bids in an auction for the development of a non-conventional renewable energy block (ERNC I) with a total offered capacity of 500 MW. The bidders offered prices below the reserve price (US$52/MWh for hydropower, US$61.12/MWh for wind, US$67.79/MWh for solar and US$45.59/MWh for biomass) and proposed to develop 14 renewable projects totalling 511 MW and an average cumulated production of 1.9 TWh/year. Three hydropower projects were selected, totalling 149 MW, along with one 45 MW wind project and 6 solar PV projects totalling 318 MW.
The tender was launched in December 2022, along with two other public selection procedure for new power projects, for 400 MW of CCGT and for three transmission subsystems in the north-east of the country, which require a cumulated investment of US$1.9bn. The projects should enter commercial operations between 2024 (renewables and transmission lines) and 2026 (CCGT project).
Hydropower is Ecuador's main electricity source, with 59% of the capacity (5.1 GW of hydropower out of a total capacity of 8.7 GW) and 78% of the power generation in 2020. Renewables are still marginal (around 150 MW of biomass and less than 50 MW of solar and wind in 2020). The Maestro Plan For Electricity 2018-2027 projects a share of 88% of electricity generation by renewable sources (including hydropower) in 2027.
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