The city of Comodoro Rivadavia, the most populated in Chubut, will install an innovative solar park on the site where the city’s landfill previously operated.
This aims to generate community renewable energy as a commitment to the energy transition.
In this regard, the municipality and various institutions signed the agreement this Monday to bring this project to life in the Patagonian city.
Mayor Othar Macharashvili led the signing ceremony along with representatives from Comodoro Conocimiento, the Sociedad Cooperativa Popular Limitada (SCPL), Elementa Energía, and the civil association Transición Energética Sostenible.
“This process marks the beginning of the energy transition in Comodoro, and we will double our efforts to strengthen it,” Macharashvili stated during the solar park signing ceremony.
An inclusive and cooperative energy model
The projected solar park in Comodoro will allow renewable energy to reach homes and small enterprises that could not make these investments individually.
The project includes community distributed generation integrated into the public electrical grid.
In this way, the inter-institutional agreement seeks to contribute to climate change mitigation and advance the decarbonization of the energy matrix.
Additionally, the strategy promotes a community, cooperative, and inclusive energy model.
“A lot of work was done to unify criteria, so we are filled with pride to have finalized this agreement,” the mayor highlighted.
The environmental recovery of Comodoro’s former landfill, which will now be a solar park
The project has a strong environmental and social component by promoting the recovery of a degraded site.
The new solar park in Comodoro will be installed on the former landfill site, allowing for the redefinition of a space that required environmental remediation processes.
Rubén Zárate, president of Comodoro Conocimiento, explained that the cooperation of each area was key. According to him, it “allowed us to generate a project that launches an entire distributed energy strategy for the city.”
Zárate emphasized that “this action seeks to recover the former landfill area, which has undergone various remediation stages, and will now be part of an emblematic project.”
The official also highlighted that “distributed energy can generate new jobs and entrepreneurs, besides allowing us to add more energy to the city.”
The roles and responsibilities of each institution to create Comodoro’s new solar park
Each signing entity will fulfill specific functions in the development of the solar park:
- Municipality: will grant the use of the former landfill site
- Comodoro Conocimiento: will coordinate technical, administrative, and training follow-up
- SCPL: will ensure integration into the grid and energy distribution
- Elementa Energía: will act as the technical and operational system manager
- Civil Association Transición Energética Sostenible: will promote community participation
Franco Domizzi, head of the SCPL Board of Directors, stated that the signing “demonstrates maturity in generating consensus suitable for the project.”
Solange Freile, president of Elementa Energía, mentioned that this project has been in the works for over 10 years. “We thank the institutions that opened their doors to us,” she added.
Meanwhile, Rolando Rivera, from Transición Energética Sostenible, stated that “distributed generation should be the starting point for the energy transition.”
Macharashvili concluded by stating that “we want Comodoro to once again be an energy generator, which is the hub of transformation and projects that enhance the city.”
