Argentina adds new rules to curb COD delays for contracted renewables

The Argentine government has introduced a resolution to accommodate to some extent those renewable energy developers who had been late with reaching commercial operation date (COD) of their auction awarded projects.

The resolution, published last week in the state gazette, gives some investors more time to complete their projects and offers penalty relief options for missing COD and delaying the start of power supply as specified in awarded power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Argentina awarded PPAs to some 4.5 GW of renewable energy projects through its RenovAr auction programme and over 200 MW via the so-called MiniRen round for small-scale schemes, but the process to get the plants up and running has been exacerbated by the country's prolonged economic crisis and the pandemic.

In the latest resolution, the Argentine energy secretariat granted developers additional 360 calendar days to reach COD, or risk the termination of the PPA, if they demonstrate that the projects are at least 70% complete. During this period, developers still have to pay a daily fine for every contracted megawatt, which can be reduced by 70%.

Project developers can also opt to pay their fine not complying with COD deadlines in 48 monthly instalments with a 1.7% interest rate, although the fines cannot exceed 40% of the monthly remuneration. An alternative to this is to pay the fine in 12 monthly interest-free instalments.

Developer have up to 30 business days from the publication of the resolution to apply for the new benefits, the text reads.

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