President Mauricio Macri took part via videoconference this morning in the opening of Cauchari Solar Park, in the northwestern province of Jujuy.

“This is only the beginning,” said Macri at the inauguration, “Jujuy’s solar power generation capacity is almost infinite.”

A product of the successful RenovAR national renewable development programme launched in 2016, Cauchari Solar Park is the largest of its kind on the South American continent. It sits on the Puna plateau at 4,020 metres above sea level, and will generate electricity for 160,000 homes.

The park is managed by Jujuy's state-owned energy and mining company, JEMSE. It was constructed with financing from Eximbank, the Export-Import Bank of China.

The Cauchari complex consists of three parks, I, II and III, each containing 100 MW of installed capacity, with more than 1.18 million solar panels mounted on 152,000 steel piles of between 2.6 and 3 metres in length.

With 600 jobs created for the park’s construction and an expansion process already underway, the park will offer considerable employment opportunities for the people of Jujuy.

Jujuy’s governor, Gerardo Morales, hosted the inauguration, with the participation of Cabinet Chief, Marcos Peña, who said that Argentina has multiplied its energy generation from renewable sources by five in the last four years. Also present were Energy Secretary, Gustavo Lopetegui. China’s ambassador to Argentina, Zou Xiaoli, delivered a message via videoconference.

Final completion of the project will include a transport line and a transformer station to connect the energy into the Argentine Interconnection System.