Paraguay is preparing to launch its first utility-scale solar tender, totalling 140 MW in the Central Chaco region, during the first four months of 2026. The process follows the finalisation of the regulatory decree for the country’s renewable energy promotion law, which had delayed the auction for more than a year.
“The tender will be launched during the first four months of the year. It will become a reality, as the bidding documents are being developed in parallel with the regulatory decree of the Renewable Energy Promotion Law (Law No. 6977/2022),” said Mauricio Bejarano, Vice Minister of Mines and Energy, in an interview with Energía Estratégica.
“We are all committed to making this happen within the first half of 2026, so that construction and commissioning can be completed over the following year and a half,” he added.
The tender was originally expected to be launched in 2023, but faced delays while the government adjusted the necessary regulatory framework. The process is now close to being officially announced, alongside the final approval of the implementing decree.
According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the regulation—expected to be enacted in February—will define key technical and tariff conditions for the auction, as well as introduce flexibility mechanisms to attract private investment. These include extending power purchase agreements (PPAs) to up to 30 years (from the originally planned 15 years), allowing project consortia, and enabling the transfer of projects.
The approval of the decree and the Central Chaco solar tender are also expected to mark the beginning of a recurring renewable energy auction scheme in Paraguay.
“The idea is to replicate this on a large scale year after year. The first 140 MW have taken longer than expected because we are moving away from a traditional model, different from most other markets, and that has required complex regulatory adjustments,” Bejarano explained.
The initial solar project is part of Paraguay’s national plan to secure electricity supply amid a sharp rise in demand. Power consumption grew by around 18% in 2024 and 12.5% in 2025, compared with a historical average of about 7%, significantly reducing available spare generation capacity.
This accelerated growth means the country will need to add between 300 MW and 400 MW of new generation capacity per year, according to government estimates.
“We are preparing the regulatory framework to create real opportunities for the private sector and to open a market that, until now, did not exist in this part of Latin America,” the Vice Minister stressed.
Beyond the public solar tender, the government is also working on mechanisms to facilitate bilateral contracts between private parties, targeting both domestic and international consumers. Official data indicate that Paraguay currently has around 1.5 GW of demand concentrated mainly in the crypto-mining industry.
“There is strong international interest, particularly from large consumers of 30 MW or more, as contracts between data centres and the state-owned utility Administración Nacional de Electricidad are set to expire in 2027,” Bejarano noted.
“In other words, the market is opening up. Opportunities will not be limited to power purchases by the national utility through public tenders, but will also include private-to-private trading and even energy exports,” he concluded.
