Surmounting a remote mountain peak over 4,000 meters above the seain northernmost Argentina, the Cauchari photovoltaic park with 1.2 millionsolar panels is invigorating the country's northern province of Jujuy.
Built with technology supplied by China Power Construction and theShanghai Electric Power Construction Company, the solar panels neatly tunedtoward the sun on the 600 hectares of barren, rocky land surface composed thelargest photovoltaic park in Latin America.
Starting operation from the end of September, it will add around50 million U.S. dollars annually to the income of the province of Jujuy, helpingto alleviate poverty in the region.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Antonio Garruzzo, clientmanager of Talesun Energy Argentina who participated in the project, said theplant will create jobs for Jujuy as well as increase its resources available.
"The ultimate goal is for the province to be able to raisefunds to pay its (external) debt and continue to generate investments. Jujuy isa province that requires investments in many areas and among these are otherrenewable energy projects, in addition to Cauchari," Garruzzo explained.
"It is not a secret that the province is readjusting itsenergy matrix, and the collection of electricity from solar panels is one ofthe pillars of restructuring towards clean energy sources," he added.
The solar park is located on the Puna plateau in Jujuy province,which shares a border with Bolivia. With an altitude of 4,200 meters, theregion is among the places with the highest level of solar radiation in theworld.
The park, consisting of three areas -- Cauchari I, II and III,each generating 100 megawatts of power -- will benefit around 160,000 familiesin Argentina.
"The energy produced by this park is intended for theArgentine (electrical) system. The towns around Cauchari, in order to accessthis energy, would have to have a direct connection, but with this level ofgeneration, Jujuy can raise funds to work on the micro-distribution ofelectricity in surrounding towns through the creation of infrastructure,"Garruzzo said.
He added that 60 percent of the jobs directly and indirectlygenerated by the project went to inhabitants of the province.
"During the entire project, about 1,500 (jobs) weregenerated, and cooperatives were also created in the towns that offeredservices to the park," he said.
"We believe that this is a dynamic that will continue becausethe plant will require work in relation to the maintenance of the panels andmedium- and low-voltage equipment, cleaning, road maintenance, warehousemanagement, kitchen management, transportation, among others," he said.
Construction of the plant began in April 2018, after China andArgentina signed a cooperation agreement within the framework of the Belt andRoad Initiative.
"It is very important what China and Argentina are achieving.It is win-win cooperation because Argentina provides natural and humanresources and China provides financing and technology," Garruzzo said.
For Garruzzo, the photovoltaic park is an example of binationalcooperation that "will go very far," and that is already helpingArgentina transform its energy matrix.
Editor: Galia
