Bolivia’s existing solar infrastructure includes four operational plants totaling approximately 170 megawatts according to ENDE data. The Uyuni plant in Potosí operates at 3,700 meters elevation with over 200,000 panels generating 62.5 megawatts, making it one of the country’s most efficient installations. ENDE Guaracachi is executing a 2.5-megawatt expansion at Uyuni funded by a Bs 28.6 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank, scheduled for completion in coming months. The Yunchará facility in Tarija, inaugurated in 2018 as Bolivia’s first grid-connected solar plant, operates 19,000 panels across 12 hectares producing five megawatts. A fourth plant in Cobija, Pando department, also generates five megawatts.
The Oruro plant at Caracollo developed through two phases between 2019 and 2021, with the first 50-megawatt segment commissioned under former president Evo Morales and the second 50-megawatt phase completed in February 2021. Initial development attracted 16 bidders in 2017 including Power China, TSK, Prodiel, Sterling and Wilson, and TBEA, with financing from the French Development Agency, European Union, and Central Bank of Bolivia totaling $43 million.
The government frames the Viacha project as responding to imminent fossil fuel crisis while maintaining parallel efforts to restore Bolivia’s position as a gas-producing nation. The solar expansion aims to reduce natural gas and diesel combustion for thermoelectric generation, strengthening energy sovereignty as the National Interconnected System faces supply pressures.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
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