Bolivia breaks ground on 50-MW solar PV plant

Bolivia's Ministry of Energy announced that construction work on a 50-MW photovoltaic (PV) farm in the western department of Oruro has started late last month.

The Planta Solar Fotovoltaica Oruro – Fase 1, as it is named, is owned by state-owned utility Empresa Nacional de Energia (ENDE) and is being developed by Spanish company TSK Electronica y Electricidad SA.

Oruro's total cost is estimated at USD 39.6 million (EUR 34.29m), to be financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union (EU) and the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), the ministry stated.

Located in the Cercado province, the PV facility will be comprised of approximately 150,000 solar panels with an estimated total production of 105,000 MWh per year.

When up and running, the Oruro solar plant will help reduce the country's gas consumption and guarantee the access to electricity throughout the nation, while also increasing the surplus of electric power generation for export, the ministry noted.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.87)

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