Ecuador makes room for 1.4 GW of renewables in updated electricity plan

Infrastructure at the site of the Minas the Huascachaca wind project, Ecuador. Image by Antonio Jose Borrero on Twitter (@AntonioJoseBor8)

Ecuador’s ministry of energy and non-renewable natural resources has updated the 2031 electricity master plan to allow for the incorporation of around 1,440 MW of non-conventional renewable energy capacity on top of what is already planned to come online by the end of the planning period.

The additional capacity, which would come from smaller hydroelectric stations, wind and solar farms and biomass-based plants, is expected to mobilise some USD 2.2 billion (EUR 1.88bn) of private capital, the ministry said in a press release.

These new projects will tendered in public competitions as the government seeks to attract new investments in renewables and encourage the use of clean energies to met the nation’s demand for power in the coming years, the ministry stated.

The planned capacity is divided into four blocks, with the first 500 MW expected to start operation by 2024.

More details on the ministry’s capacity expansion plan follow in the table below:

Blocks:	Technologies:	Expected start of operation:
Block 1 500 MW	220 MW wind 150 MW small and medium hydro 100 solar PV 30 MW biomass energy	2024
Block 2 500 MW	270 MW solar PV 130 MW wind 100 MW biomass energy	2025
Block 3 120 MW	120 MW solar PV	2026
Block 4 320 MW	320 MW wind	2028