Latorre made clear that transmission infrastructure has become the critical constraint. The province cannot continue adding generation without the physical capacity to evacuate power from the growing solar base. To address the bottleneck, Mendoza is advancing two transformer projects: the Valle de Uco substation, designed to reinforce regional grid capacity and serve more than 150,000 inhabitants while supporting wineries, industrial plants and tourism projects, and the Mendoza Norte substation rated at 220/132 kV, intended to prevent overloads in Greater Mendoza and enable new mining and industrial investments.
Beyond the solar expansion, Mendoza holds approximately 30 percent of the Vaca Muerta unconventional hydrocarbon formation within its borders and has over a century of conventional oil and gas development. The province is simultaneously working to attract capital for mature fields and infrastructure to support both conventional and non-conventional output. Latorre stressed that regulatory predictability is essential to sustain private confidence and long-term financing for energy projects across Argentina’s provinces.
In a separate tender process, the province has opened technical consultations for the Southern Ring Closure, a 132 kV interconnection linking San Rafael and General Alvear, which will include a new industrial park transformer station designed to secure electricity supply for the southern region over the next three decades. Provincial authorities are emphasizing the need for clear rules and investment certainty to maintain momentum as Mendoza positions itself as a national leader in clean energy infrastructure and resource development.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
