Yturriaga identified three fundamental axes for the sector’s future: financing the energy transformation, driving innovation and competitiveness, and converting ideas into concrete projects. The ambassador stressed the necessity of creating laws and a legislative framework enabling companies to develop projects, signaling regulatory reform as a prerequisite for scaled investment.
Loja province in southern Ecuador emerged as a focal point, with Prefect Mario Mancino reporting identification of more than 5,400 megawatts of renewable energy potential across wind, solar, and mini-hydroelectric projects. Of this total, 1,374 megawatts are ready for development. The province already operates the Villonaco wind farm, Ecuador’s first, with 16.5 megawatts of generation capacity at the notable altitude of 2,700 meters above sea level.
Mancino identified transmission capacity as the critical bottleneck preventing project advancement. Investors are prepared to proceed but cannot evacuate generated power because substations are saturated and interconnection infrastructure is insufficient to integrate new generation into the National Interconnected System. Loja province has established targets to attract $2 billion in investment and add at least 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity through 2034.
Congress sessions addressed multilateral financing for energy projects, innovation and competitiveness in energy transition, hydrogen development, and sector success stories. Spanish company executives in attendance included Eduardo Peyró, president of Elecdor, Felipe Altamirano, project coordinator for Grupo Cox, and Gonzalo Ramajo, operations director for Global Factor.
The congress extended to the Galápagos Islands, where participants visited the San Cristóbal wind farm on the archipelago’s easternmost island and toured Santa Cruz Island. Programming included a presentation by Víctor Herrera, sustainability coordinator at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, titled “Galápagos in Transition: Research and Perspectives for a Sustainable Energy Future.”
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
