Pampetrol receives two bids for 15 MW solar expansion in General Pico with potential to double capacity

Pampetrol, the state energy company of La Pampa province, received two proposals for the second phase of the General Pico Photovoltaic Solar Park. A consortium formed by Cimepro, Martínez y De La Fuente, and Megatrans submitted an EPC bid of $12,373,594, while Vial A and TPS Constructora offered $12,826,225. Both bids correspond to a 15 MW plant and will now be evaluated by the Pre-Award Commission.

The tender specifies the selection of one or more partners to form a temporary union for the construction, assembly, connection, commissioning, operation and maintenance of a 15 MW photovoltaic park, plus the sale of its energy to the Provincial Energy Administration of La Pampa (APE). The tender incorporates a mechanism to expand development by another 15 MW through what Pampetrol calls the Economic Conditions Equalization Procedure, which allows pre-qualified companies to develop a second park of equal capacity if they match the winning bid’s terms. If applied, this phase could reach 30 MW.

The structure requires the private partner to contribute 80 percent of the investment while Pampetrol participates with 20 percent. The provincial company provides the site, connection feasibility studies, environmental assessments, prior project development and the supply contract. Energy will be commercialized through a 20-year supply agreement with APE. The arrangement includes a fixed price for the first seven years and a regulated adjustment mechanism for the remaining period. Evaluation criteria include project cost, offered energy price and profit distribution participation.

The new capacity will add to the 15 MW first phase of the General Pico project, awarded in 2025 to the temporary union formed by Cimepro, Martínez de la Fuente and Megatrans. Pampetrol signed the contract for that plant in November 2025 under the same 80-20 participation structure. That first phase tender was relaunched after an earlier call involving a consortium with PowerChina Argentina was rejected.

The second phase forms part of an expansion project that Pampetrol plans to take to 50 MW of installed capacity in General Pico. In April this year, during the presentation of the new call to sector companies, the company positioned the new 15 MW and the possibility of adding another 15 MW within that objective. The provincial development strategy relies on public-private partnerships that maintain state participation while leveraging external capital for renewable capacity expansion.