ANDE, Paraguay’s state electricity utility responsible for generating, transmitting and distributing electricity, is preparing its first tender to purchase power produced by private companies. The tender documents provide for the contracting of 140 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic solar power for a large-scale plant in Loma Plata, in the department of Boquerón.
The project involves an estimated investment of approximately US$100 million and is expected to operate under a leasing model, in which the private sector will build the infrastructure and ANDE will purchase the electricity generated. The tender documents are expected to be ready by the end of October 2026.
The future Loma Plata Solar Plant will have an installed capacity of 140 MW in alternating current and will be connected to the National Interconnected System (SIN), the network managed by ANDE that distributes electricity generated by hydroelectric plants, including Itaipu, throughout the country. The connection will be made through the Loma Plata substation at 220 kilovolts, with the construction of an approximately seven-kilometer transmission line and the expansion of the existing infrastructure.
The initiative represents a change in Paraguay’s electricity market, historically concentrated in large hydroelectric plants and under state control. For the first time, the public utility is expected to acquire power generated by a private project, creating room for new domestic and foreign investment in renewable generation.
In addition to adding capacity to the system, the initiative aims to complement hydroelectric generation and reduce the country’s near-exclusive dependence on hydropower. According to the project rationale, solar power could help meet continued growth in demand, particularly in light of the productive and industrial expansion expected over the next decade.
The process will also be one of the first practical applications of Paraguay’s new legal framework for renewable energy. Its outcome could establish the conditions for future tenders and indicate how private capital will participate in expanding the country’s electricity infrastructure.
For consumers and companies outside Paraguay, the most concrete consequence will be the possibility of a more diversified electricity supply in the medium term. Implementation, however, still depends on the publication of the tender documents, the tender process and the completion of the generation and connection works for the SIN.