El Quemado’s Solar Farm in Mendoza will finish in the next few months, totaling 305 MW of power.

Argentina’s solar projects are coming online, helping to balance its energy requirements.

YPF President and CEO Horacio Marín and Mendoza Governor Alfredo Cornejo visited El Quemado Solar Park, located in the department of Las Heras, 53 km from the city of Mendoza.

• Upon completion, El Quemado will be one of the largest solar parks in Argentina, boasting an installed capacity of 305 MW and an estimated investment of US$230 million.
• By comparison with neighbouring countries, facilities of this size are typically classified as utility-scale projects, but they are modest in comparison to the largest solar farms globally. For instance, top-tier solar parks in countries such as the United States and the UAE often exceed several hundred megawatts in a single site, while multi-gigawatt complexes are now common in places like China and India. El Quemado sits in the upper tier of large Argentine projects, contributing meaningfully to regional goals without reaching the mega-scale of the very largest global parks.
• In energy terms, El Quemado will generate enough electricity to meet the consumption of more than 233,000 homes, effectively covering the demand of all households in the city of Mendoza and the departments of Las Heras and Levalle. This is comparable to the annual electricity consumption of mid-sized cities in several countries, highlighting the park’s role in diversifying the energy mix and advancing energy security in the region.

Current progress and local impact:

• The project is 57% complete, with more than 50,000 bifacial panels already installed. At this stage, more than 300 people are working on the project, with over 80% of them local workers, underscoring its local employment impact.
• The 600-hectare site features the first row known as the “Golden Tracker,” a reference model guiding the installation of more than 510,000 bifacial photovoltaic panels at El Quemado. This use of bifacial technology aligns with best practices observed in other leading parks worldwide, which are increasingly leveraging higher-efficiency panels and advanced tracking systems.
• El Quemado is the seventh renewable energy project developed by YPF Luz. It will have an installed capacity of 305 MW and is scheduled to be operational in the first half of 2026. It was the first renewable energy project approved by the national government to operate under the RIGI (Large Investment Incentive Regime), illustrating Argentina’s policy framework to attract large investments in renewables.

Statements and stakeholders:

• Governor Cornejo emphasised that the solar park will provide more energy for Argentina and Mendoza, with completion expected between March and April of next year, placing the project early in its operational year relative to many large-scale projects worldwide.
• Marín characterised the project as an example of YPF’s operational excellence and its role in leveraging the country’s natural resources for energy development.
• Officials participating in the tour included Mendoza’s Minister of Energy and Environment, Jimena Latorre; Las Heras Mayor Francisco Lo Presti; YPF Vice President of New Energy Andrés Scarone; and YPF Luz CEO Martín Mandarano.
• The El Quemado Park project was developed by EMESA (Mendoza Energy Company) in close collaboration with YPF Luz during the construction phase.

Future integration:

• The energy produced will be sold on the Renewable Energy Term Market (MATER) to industries nationwide seeking efficient and sustainable power. It will be connected to the Argentine Electric Transportation System (SADI) via a new 220/33 kV transformer station, thereby integrating the park into the national transmission network and supporting broader decarbonization goals.

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