Ecuador unveils developer shortlist for first ever major solar venture

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Ecuador plans to announce the tender winners of the 200MW solar project along the Pacific coast in April 2020. Image credit: Diego Lizcano / Flickr

Ecuador has identified the handful of top global clean energy developers who will compete to deploy the country’s first ever large-scale solar project.

Neoen, Solarpack, Total Eren and EDP are four of the eight firms pre-selected to bid for a contract for the 200MW El Aromo solar project along Ecuador’s coast, according to the government.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Also part of the shortlist unveiled on Friday are Consorcio Cobra Zero-E Aromo, China Harbour Engineering Ltd., Consorcio Al Faisal-CRBC-GCL and China Huadian Hong Kong Company Limited.

Selected out of 19 initial applicants, the eight solar finalists will now prepare bids for a project meant to be installed in the Manabí Province, west of  the country's capital Quito.

As Ecuador’s state-run utility CELEC has explained in recent months, El Aromo is slated for construction at a site initially earmarked for an oil refinery project, liquidated after cost overruns.

The solar project – meant to be grid-linked via the 230kV substation of San Juan de Manta – will tap into onsite annual irradiation levels of 140kWh per square metre, according to CELEC’s estimates.

Ecuador tender draws LatAm-keen foreign eyes

Announced at a public presentation in late July, the solar project tender should have revealed its winners by 15 April 2020, according to the government’s timetable.

The contract for 280GWh-a-year El Aromo will be tendered alongside others for 110MW wind duo Villonaco I and II. The PV and wind plants will each require around US$200 million to build.

Six of the solar finalists – including Neoen, EDP and Total Eren – have also made it to the shortlist for the 110MW wind tender, which will pick a developer for two projects in the Loja province.

Should the 200MW of PV capacity finally go live, it would bring a major boost to Ecuador, where installed solar stood at 26MW and only produced 0.13% of country-wide energy output.

The solar push by the hydropower-reliant Andean state is attracting foreign firms, many of whom are already developing in Mexico, Brazil and other of Latin America’s most buoyant PV markets.

In July, Ecuador’s launch event for the PV and wind tender was attended by firms from Germany, Denmark, Spain, Canada, China, South Korea, Japan, the US, Colombia and Chile.

The prospects and challenges of Latin American solar and storage will take centre stage at Solar Media's Energy Storage Latin America, to be held in Colombia on 28-29 April 2020.

Read Next

July 18, 2025
Georgia Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) will see the utility aim to install 4GW of new renewable power capacity by 2035.
July 18, 2025
Decisions and actions related to the US Department of Interior (DoI) will ‘undergo elevated review’ of solar PV and wind facilities.
July 17, 2025
Corporate funding in the solar sector fell by 39% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period last year.
July 17, 2025
Swedish solar developer OX2 has submitted plans for a 150MW solar-plus-storage project in Queensland to Australia’s EPBC Act.
July 17, 2025
Pilecom, a mechanical installer of utility-scale solar projects, has officially started work on European Energy’s 106MW Lancaster solar PV power plant in Victoria, Australia.
July 16, 2025
Supply-demand imbalances and inventory pressures have driven down prices and negatively impacted the operational performance of several listed Chinese PV companies that released their 2025 interim forecasts this week.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK