Latin America News

Latest news and developments from Latin America region

• Spanish Elecnor wins contract for Tucano wind farm BOP and power lines in Brazil

  April 29, 2021
  Spanish Elecnor has been awarded a EUR44 million contract, for the construction of the 322 MW Tucano wind farm in the Bahía region, from Brazilian company AES Brasil.

• Panama’s ETESA launches tender for developing EIS for Fourth Line project

  April 28, 2021
  Panama’s state-owned electricity transmission company, Empresa de Transmision Electrica (ETESA), has launched a tender for the development of the environmental impact study (EIS) for the Fourth Line project, which will pass through three ecological reserves. The offers for the contract are due on June 16, 2021.

• Ecuadorian CELEC EP to invest USD340 million in El Oro transmission projects

  April 26, 2021
  Recently, Ecuador's state-owned power company, La Empresa Pública Estratégica Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador (CELEC EP), and state-run energy company Corporacion Nacional de Electricidad (CNEL EP)–El Oro Unit, announced plans to develop new power transmission and distribution projects worth USD340 million in the El Oro province.

• Emgesa launches Colombia's first battery energy storage system

  April 21, 2021
  Colombian power generator Emgesa has initiated operation of the country's first battery energy storage system (BESS) in central Cundinamarca department, valued at USD5.7 million.

• Brazilian ANEEL declares transmission concessionaire of Lot 1 Auction Nº 1/2020

  April 20, 2021
  Brazilian energy regulator, Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL), has approved Chinese firm State Grid Brazil Holding (SGBH), which is a subsidiary of Chinese government-owned State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), as the new concessionaire of Lot 1 of the transmission auction (Nº 1/2020) that was held in December 2020.

• Ecuador’s Transelectric presents EIA study for 230 kV Cajas transmission system

  April 14, 2021
  Ecuador's state-owned power company, La Empresa Pública Estratégica Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador (CELEC EP), through its transmission unit Transelectric, presented the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the new 230/69 kV Cajas transmission system, after the public assembly for the same was held on April 10, 2021.

• Paraguayan ANDE plans to invest USD250 million in Chaco by 2030 [free access]

  April 12, 2021
  Paraguayan Administracion Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE) plans to invest USD250.5 million in the country's Chaco region between 2021 and 2030.

• Paraguayan ANDE invites bids for María Auxiliadora substation project [free access]

  April 8, 2021
  Paraguayan Administracion Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE) has invited international competitive bids for the 220 kV María Auxiliadora substation project valued at USD31.1 million, which is being funded by the Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF), or the Development Bank of Latin America.

• Chilean SEA gives environmental approval to USD140 million worth 220 kV line

  April 5, 2021
  Chilean Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental (SEA) or Environmental Assessment Service has approved construction of a USD140 million transmission line in the Coquimbo region of the country, where the number of renewable projects are increasing.

• Celeo acquires power assets of Chilean Colbún at EUR1.1 million

  March 31, 2021
  Celeo Redes, a joint venture (JV) between Spanish Elecnor (51 per cent) and Dutch pension fund manager APG Asset Management (49 per cent), has acquired Colbún's electricity grid business in Chile for about EUR1.104 million.

• Panama’s PESIN crosses midway point for projects under construction

  March 30, 2021
  As per the latest update, 66 per cent progress has been made for projects under implementation under Panama’s Plan de Expansión del Sistema Interconectado Nacional (PESIN) 2019-33 or Expansion Plan of the National Interconnected System 2019-33, being developed by the state-owned electricity transmission company, Empresa de Transmision Electrica (ETESA).

• Ecuador’s Transelectric energises 138 kV Pimampiro substation [free access]

  March 30, 2021
  Ecuador's state-owned power company, La Empresa Pública Estratégica Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador (CELEC EP), through its transmission unit Transelectric, energised the 138 kV Pimampiro substation, which is part of the 230/138 kV Tabacundo (Pimampiro) transmission system.

• Portuguese Efacec installs Latin America’s first digital substation in Peru

  March 25, 2021
  Portuguese engineering company Efacec has delivered to Enel Peru, the first-ever digital substation in Peru’s Medio Mundo region and also the first in the Latin American region.

• Brazilian Federal court accepts Transnorte consortium request to annul transmission line contract

  March 23, 2021
  The Brazilian Federal Court has accepted the request from the Transnorte consortium, comprising of Centrais Elétricas do Norte do Brasil S.A. (Eletronorte) and Alupar, to annul the contract for the construction of the transmission line between Manaus, Amazonas, and Boa Vista, Roraima—as the consortium was rejected environmental licence for the line.

• CABEI to extend USD40 million support to Nicaraguan transmission project

  March 23, 2021
  Recently, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) approved the financial support of USD40.1 million to Nicaraguan grid developer Empresa Nacional de Transmisión Eléctrica S.A. (Enatrel), for the implementation of the Nicaragua's Electric Transmission System Expansion Programme.

• Paraguayan ANDE launches tender for 500 kV substation project

  March 17, 2021
  Paraguay’s state-owned power company, Administración Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE), has launched a USD100 million tender to shore up dispatch in the Sistema Interconectado Nacional (SIN)—the national interconnected system’s central and metropolitan grids.

• Brazil to add over 11,000 km of lines during March-December 2021 [free access]

  March 16, 2021
  As per a news report, the Brazilian energy regulator Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL), the country plans to add 11,131 km of transmission lines (200 in number) to its grid network between March and December.

• Peruvian ministry signs substation concessions contracts with Consorcio Transmantaro

  March 11, 2021
  The Ministerio de Energia y Minas del Peru or Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines, and the Consorcio Transmantaro S.A. (CTM), a subsidiary of Colombian Interconexión Eléctrica (ISA), have signed two concession contracts for the 220/60 kV Chincha Nueva and Nazca Nueva substation projects, as well as the security and guarantees of the respective Peruvian state.

• Ecuador’s Transelectric conducts second public consultation for 500 kV grid link to Peru

  March 9, 2021
  Ecuador's state-owned power company, La Empresa Pública Estratégica Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador (CELEC EP), via its transmission unit Transelectric, carried out the second round of public consultation of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of the 500 kV Peru–Ecuador Interconnection project.

• Colombian UPME advances on grid-scale energy storage system

  March 9, 2021
  As per news reports, two companies have submitted bids for the supervisory tender for Colombia's first grid-scale battery storage project.