Ecuador's tender for 500 MW of renewables oversubscribed

Ten companies have submitted technical offers in Ecuador’s international tender to award concessions for 500 MW of new renewables across the country, the ministry of energy and mining said on Saturday.

The ten bidders, which come from various countries from around the world, showed up with offers for around 700 MW of new projects for wind, solar PV and hydro power, the ministry’s statement said.

In its invitation to tender, the ministry divided 500 MW into four sub-blocks, allocating 150 MW for small-scale hydro, 200 MW for wind power, 120 MW for solar PV and 30 MW for biogas or biomass-based plants.

While the supply exceeded the ministry’s demand, the number of bidders reaching this stage came down from 37 companies that applied to participate back in May this year.

The remaining participants will compete for 30-year concessions for hydro, 25-year concessions for wind and solar PV, and 20-year concessions for biomass/biogas projects. Bids with the lowest energy prices will be awarded concessions, the ministry reiterated.

The goal of the tender is to secure an average power supply of 2,119 MWh per year.

The ministry expects the projects to represent investments totalling USD 875 million (EUR 847.6m), fully assumed by the private sector.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.969)

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