Energy Central-News Article

Bolivia aims to become one of the main suppliers of electricity to the Brazilian market. Within this framework, studies are being carried out for the interconnection with that country.

This follows the beginning of the export of electricity to northern Argentina.

The president of Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (ENDE) Corporación, Manuel Valle, said yesterday that studies are being carried out for the energy interconnection with the South American giant through hydroelectric projects.

"I am convinced that we are the future generators of electric energy for Brazil in large quantities. Surely, we are going to be the suppliers of energy, I think the second supplier of electric energy in South America for Brazil. That is, as long as we carry out the planned projects", said the executive yesterday in an interview with La Razón Radio.

Valle said that ENDE is carrying out several studies for the connection of the National Interconnected System (SIN) with its Brazilian counterpart. This is being done taking into account the territorial extension of the neighboring country and the extensive border with Bolivia.

One of these studies is the energy integration through the northern Amazon, i.e. through the departments of Pando or Beni. Another alternative is through Puerto Suárez, in the department of Santa Cruz, and connecting to Corumbá, with the State of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil.

The executive affirmed that Bolivia plans to generate electric energy through hydroelectric projects such as the one planned to be developed in the Madera River, and then send it to the Brazilian market.

PROJECTS.

"Everything that has to do with the binational project in the Madera River that we are looking at, according to the studies, we can generate approximately 3,000 megawatts (MW) of power to inject into the Brazilian system and other additional projects that we could carry out for export to the Brazilian system," Valle said.

The Madera River Hydroelectric and River Navigation Project is part of the bi-national (Bolivia-Brazil) project to exploit the hydroelectric potential in the Madera and Mamoré rivers binational section; between Villa Bella and Manoa in Bolivia (Abuna in Brazil), and between Guayaramerín and Villa Bella, respectively. The potential is approximately 20,000 gigawatt hours (GWh/year) with an installable power of approximately 3,000 MW.

According to the web portal peruconstruye.net, Brazil had 183 GW of installed capacity of electricity generation in operation until 2021, consisting of 103 GW of hydroelectric power.

As well as 46 GW of thermoelectric; 21 GW of wind; 5.5 GW of small hydroelectric; 4.6 GW of solar; 1.9 GW of nuclear, 838 MW of mini-hydro and 0.5 MW of wave energy.

You can also read: El Alto has 98% coverage in electric energy.

ARGENTINA.

On Tuesday, the Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Franklin Molina, informed that Bolivia started exporting from Monday 60 MW of electric power to Argentina through the Juana Azurdy de Padilla Transmission Line which connects Yaguacua (Tarija) with Tartagal (Salta).

Through ENDE Transmisión Argentina SA, a subsidiary of ENDE Corporación, Bolivia was able to inject 913.9 MW/h of energy with a capacity of 60 MW to supply the north of the neighboring country from the Termoeléctrica del Sur plant in Tarija.

For this sale, the national government projects economic income of between Bs 1,000 million and 2,000 million per year.

The transmission line has a capacity of 120 MW and at present half of this is being sent, said ENDE's president.

He also said that 61.7 MW was sent yesterday from the Yaguacua system in Bolivia and 57.2 MW arrived at Tartagal.

Mr. Valle recalled that Bolivia has an installed capacity in the SIN of 3,614 MW generated by different energy sources.

Molina explained on Tuesday that in addition to Argentina there are other nations interested in Bolivian electric energy such as Brazil, Peru and Chile with which studies have been developed to expand the sale of electricity to the countries of the region.