Bolivia has great potential for generating energy from renewable sources.
(RE).- Power generation is experiencing a period of transformation throughout the world. Renewables are reaching their technological and economic maturity. Therefore, they are increasingly competitive with the traditional ones; oil, coal or natural gas.
This change has also reached companies dedicated to the production of hard energy. Many oil companies have created a division for renewable energies or some have even gone further to focus fully on them.
That green swell has also reached Bolivia. A few weeks ago, the Bolivian oil and construction services company, BOLPEGAS, presented its “Renewable Energies – Road towards the Energy Transition” division, at an event attended by British Ambassador Jeff Glekin, national and Santa Cruz authorities and special guests.
“This is a worldwide trend. Large oil companies are focusing on renewable energies and we as BOLPEGAS want to be the pioneers in this to offer our clients technology in this area as well,”said Andrea Carrillo, Coordinator of Renewable Energy Projects at BOLPEGAS.
«Initially we are with photovoltaic solar energy, but our vision is also to venture into biomass, wind, etc., and have a complete portfolio of green energy», she complements.
Within this framework, BOLPEGAS presented the implementation of its “Photovoltaic Solar Park”, a system consisting of 48 solar panels from the UKSOL brand, a well-known British company with extensive experience in the development and manufacture of these products. Both companies have a commercial agreement for the representation of a wide range of products for Bolivia.
ADVANTAGE
(RE).- As a reference, the implemented system allows a 60% saving in electricity consumption, mitigating the emission of 10 tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to planting 242 trees. «The new generations are committed to a sustainable and friendly world with nature, therefore, actions such as the incorporation of electric vehicles, solar systems and other similar projects to the national market, are attractive, innovative proposals and above all committed to an environment healthy ”, remarks Andrea Carrillo.
They are inexhaustible energies, because they come from resources that are natural and renewable, the amount available can be maintained over time, even if it is used in large proportions. It should be noted that Bolivia is one of the countries that receives the solar radiation in the world; however, this potential is not being exploited.
Within this framework, Ricardo Carrillo, General Manager of BOLPEGAS, a company with more than 24 years of experience in the hydrocarbons sector, assures that the company assumes this challenge, “since renewable energies will allow us to generate innovative, efficient and sustainable proposals for the industry, commerce and the Bolivian population”.
“Bolpegas had its beginnings with the management and supervision of works. Then we have created the engineering division in all its phases and later we entered the exploration area. We also provide human resources to oil companies and the industrial sector. Now we are entering the area of renewable energies, initially with solar energy and later we will be with other energies”, he emphasized.
The commitment to carry out an energy transition is a great challenge for Bolivian companies such as BOLPEGAS, implementing technology with extensive experience in the international market and betting on innovative, competitive models, and above all committed to a sustainable Bolivia for current and future generations.
“We are an internationally certified company and we have taken advantage of that experience we have. So being a company dedicated to the hydrocarbons area, we are in the energy field in which we decided to diversify with a large number of professionals already trained for this new area ”, explains Ricardo Carrillo.
CONTEXT
The Bolivian government has undertaken several projects in this area, such as the construction of a solar park in the Amazon region of Pando in 2018 and, in 2021, the delivery of the Oruro solar park.
Likewise, the Qollpana wind farm in Cochabamba has been operating since 2014 and, in 2021, three more parks will be launched in the department of Santa Cruz; San Julián, Warnes and El Dorado with a generation capacity of 108 megawatts, 8% of the national demand.
These projects also encourage the path towards the transition of the energy matrix in the country. Something that BOLPEGAS has taken as its new challenge to contribute to the sustainable energy future of the planet.
