Argentina commissions 360 MW solar farm

From pv magazine Latam

The province of Mendoza has inaugurated the El Quemado Solar Park, located in the department of Las Heras, in the province of Mendoza, in the sunny Cuyo region.

With an installed capacity of 360 MW, the facility is now the largest photovoltaic plant in Argentina. Prior to the commissioning, the country's largest solar facity was the 315 MW Cauchari complex.

Originally developed by the provincial utility Empresa Mendocina de Energía Sociedad Anónima (Emesa), the $220 million project was subsequently acquired and built by YPF Luz. The first 100 MW unit entered commercial operation in December last year.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Governor Alfredo Cornejo, YPF President and CEO Horacio Marín, and Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni. Officials highlighted that El Quemado is the first renewable energy project approved under Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI), designed to attract investments through fiscal, customs, and foreign exchange incentives.

The plant spans approximately 620 hectares and comprises more than 511,000 bifacial solar modules, 5,800 trackers, 1,170 inverters, and 40 transformer stations. It has an estimated capacity factor of 31.4%. According to official estimates, annual generation will be sufficient to cover residential demand in the city of Mendoza, as well as the departments of Las Heras and Lavalle.

The grid connection works included a new transformer station linked to the Argentine Interconnection System (SADI), as well as a substation equipped with GIS technology and an outgoing feeder for three 220 kV/33 kV transformers. The project also included 180 km of fiber-optic cabling for control and protection systems.

Construction lasted 18 months and peaked at more than 350 workers, with 87% of labor sourced locally. Key technology suppliers included JinkoSolar, Arctech Solar, and Huawei.

With El Quemado now online, Mendoza exceeds 700 MW of installed solar capacity and is moving toward a provincial pipeline projected to surpass 1 GW. Among upcoming developments are the Anchoris and San Rafael projects, each with 180 MW of capacity.

Several power purchase agreements (PPAs) have meanwhile been secured. In December last year, YPF Luz signed an agreement with Molinos Río de la Plata to extend its renewable supply contract to 2030, increasing the company’s clean energy share to up to 80%, with the potential to reach 100% in the future. The agreement builds on a prior contract signed in September 2023, which included the 100 MW Zonda Solar Park in San Juan, and now incorporates generation from El Quemado.

In March this year, YPF Luz signed a three-year agreement with Skyonline, an Argentine technology company specializing in digital infrastructure, to supply approximately 7,200 MWh annually. The contract will cover 85% of the electricity demand of Skyonline’s data center in downtown Buenos Aires, supplied through generation from El Quemado and the General Levalle Solar Park in Córdoba.

In April, YPF Luz also announced an agreement with Molinos Basile, covering 50% of the company’s electricity demand, equivalent to around 2,200 MWh per year.

Popular content

From night to noon: France’s reactors are now bending for European solar

14 May 2026 Hourly ENTSO-E data show the summer midday-to-evening gap in French nuclear output has grown nearly eightfold since 2019. The reactors have adapted. T...