The Argentinian Ministry of Energy and Mines has published the outcome of the secound round in the RenovAr power capacity tender, which targeted 1,200 MW of new generation capacity, of which 550 MW had been set for wind energy, 450 MW for solar energy and 100 MW for biomass. The maximum bidding price was set at US$56.25/MWh for wind, US$57.04/MWh for solar and US$110/MWh for biomass.
In the second round, the lowest bids received dropped to US$37.3/MWh for wind energy and US$40.44/MWh for solar energy, respectively. The average prices for wind and solar were respectively US$47.64/MWh and US$48.67/MWh, which marks a drop of 31.5% for wind prices and 36.2% for solar prices compared to the RenovAr 1 tender and a drop of 12.1% for wind prices and 13.2% for solar prices compared to the RenovAr 1,5 auction.
Argentina launched its Plan RenovAr in May 2016 in order to boost the development of renewable energy sources to reduce its CO2 emissions in the wake of the Paris Agreement. In 2006, Argentina had set a target of 8% of renewable energy within ten years, but failed to meet it and postponed its 8% target for late 2017 in October 2015 ahead of the presidential election. In a longer term, Argentina aims to cover 25% of its energy needs with renewables by 2025.