The expansion of wind energy in Argentina remains highly competitive thanks to the quality of its wind resources. However, the sector faces a structural constraint that affects the development of new projects: the availability of electricity infrastructure.
Andrés Gismondi, Vice President of Sales for LATAM South and North at Vestas, analysed the current situation and outlook for the sector, highlighting that the growth of Argentina’s wind fleet will largely depend on the capacity of the transmission system to integrate new generation.
“Why? The expansion of infrastructure is something we have been repeating for many years. Hopefully, we will soon have definitions regarding the transmission system under the new resolution, as it could create more investment opportunities,” Gismondi said during his participation at Future Energy Summit (FES Argentina).
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The expansion of infrastructure also appears as a key factor in enabling the development of new areas with wind potential, beyond the traditional hubs mainly located in Patagonia and along the Atlantic coast. This is particularly relevant considering that the productivity of wind turbines installed in Argentina significantly exceeds the international average.
“The wind resource in this country allows the same wind turbine that in another country generates half of what it produces here,” noted the company’s Vice President of Sales for LATAM South and North. Vestas already operates more than 3,000 MW of wind capacity in Argentina.
This characteristic allows wind technology to maintain high levels of competitiveness within the electricity system, even in a scenario where different generation sources are beginning to compete more directly for a share of the energy mix.
While the progress of other renewable technologies, particularly solar PV, is creating a new competitive scenario in the electricity market, the sector believes that both sources can coexist within a diversified energy mix, integrating different technologies to optimise the use of available resources and improve overall system efficiency.
In this context, Gismondi also highlighted a specific advantage of wind energy in terms of seasonality: generation is usually higher during the winter months, a period when natural gas costs also tend to increase. This can add additional value in a market where prices more directly reflect the real costs of the system.
Looking ahead, the development of the sector will depend both on the evolution of electricity demand and on investments in infrastructure that allow new generation capacity to be integrated into the grid.
In this scenario, wind power is positioned as a technology capable of responding quickly to new requirements in Argentina’s energy market, with the ability to adapt to different regulatory and economic contexts. This flexibility has allowed projects to continue advancing even in challenging environments.
