Argentine President Alberto Fernández (third from right) at the inauguration in 2020 of a US$166 million, natural-gas-fueled electric power station in the city of La Plata. (Photo courtesy of Argentine Presidency)
Despite experiencing strong renewable-power gains in recent years, Argentina has failed to generate significant new clean-energy investment, a problem that has kept the country heavily reliant on oil and natural gas for electric-power generation. Also contributing are ongoing government subsidies aimed at keeping gas-heating and electricity bills from climbing. By stimulating fossil-fuel consumption, experts say, the subsidies make it harder for Argentina to meet its goal under the Paris Agreement to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 19% below 2007 levels by 2030. With the startup of 26 new clean-power sources in 2021, renewable energy last year supplied 13% of Argentina’s electricity—up from 2% in 2016. Contributing to the rapid growth has been a 2015 law granting private investors tax incentives and other inducements to underwrite clean-energy projects. Argentina’s renewable power sources account for 5,181 megawatts of installed capacity, 74% of it from... [Log in to read more]
