The mayor of the city of Neuquén, Mariano Gaido, Governor Rolando Figueroa, and the president of CALF, Marcelo Severini, are preparing to officially announce the largest solar park project in Patagonia, an initiative that is part of the city’s commitment to sustainable development. In this regard, they have announced that the construction of this park will begin in 2025.
According to the parties involved in the project, the official presentation will take place between late November and early December this year. This park will be located on a 100-hectare site within the expansion of the urban area of Neuquén with the aim of generating electricity from a renewable source, solar energy. They ensure that its capacity will be equivalent to a quarter of the energy currently consumed by the entire city of Neuquén.
As explained by Gaido, the municipality will provide the land for the project, while CALF, under Severini’s leadership, will be responsible for the development of the executive project and the preparation of the specifications for the construction bidding of the park. “It will be the first one with an installed capacity of 50 megawatts, and the largest in Patagonia, which places Neuquén at the forefront of the fight against climate change,” stated the mayor of the provincial capital.
According to local authorities, this project is part of a State policy that promotes various government actions, including reducing taxes on sustainable buildings, as part of a comprehensive plan to protect the future of future generations. Furthermore, this approach was already addressed at the recent mayors’ summit in Brazil, where the mayor participated and shared Neuquén’s experience.
## Advances in the planning of the solar park
According to Governor Figueroa, the construction of the solar park highlights that this is a joint planning effort between the municipality and the province. “It is a demonstration of how the development of one of Argentina’s main cities is being managed,” Figueroa affirmed. The project will begin to materialize after three years of work and negotiations, during which the municipality signed agreements with CALF and later with the San Juan company Energía Provincial Sociedad del Estado (EPSE), a leader in the national energy sector.
The parties involved state that the solar park will have a capacity of 50 megawatts and will be located on one of the 8,000 hectares, which the mayor recently incorporated into the urban area of the city. Furthermore, this land will be allocated for large urban development projects that include 8,000 new serviced lots for housing, an industrial park, and a new environmental waste disposal center, whose construction will begin next year.
## Commitment to clean energy
The Secretary of Infrastructure and Urban Planning, Alejandro Nicola, emphasized that the Municipality has already reserved the necessary land for the solar park and is progressing in the preparations for the construction to start in 2025. He also highlighted the advantage of solar energy, which is clean and helps reduce the use of fossil fuels, which are highly polluting.
“Clean energy production is key to addressing climate change,” Nicola stated. According to a study by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, solar panels in arid areas, such as Neuquén, can be more effective in mitigating global warming than natural forests. This is because solar panels have the ability to reflect part of the sunlight, reducing the increase in atmospheric temperature.
Gaido reaffirmed that this project is aligned with the objectives of the Municipality, the Province, and CALF, who share a commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and contributing to environmental sustainability. “Solar parks are an endless source of clean and renewable energy, which also drives local economic development and energy diversification,” added the mayor.
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