MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay among leading countries in renewable electricity generation

The world's 20 leading countries in renewable energy production account for about 2% of the planet's population

Paraguay and Costa Rica were among the world's leading countries generating electricity from renewable sources, according to a report by the Latin American Energy Organization (Olade) published Tuesday.

The two Latin American nations generate 100% of their electricity from renewable sources, followed by Iceland (99%), Norway (98%), Ecuador (92%), Uruguay (85%), El Salvador and Panama (84% each), Colombia and Venezuela (82% each), Denmark (81%), New Zealand (80%), and Brazil (77%).

Paraguay has three hydropower plants in operation: two of them binational -Itaipu and Yacyretá- and the other -Acaray- run by the Administración Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE).

The construction of a new dam on the Aña Cuá arm, under Yacyretá's Binational Entity (EBY), is currently underway. It is expected to increase power generation by 10%, while ANDE is in the process of building and equipping the Yguazú substation, which will receive two 500kVA lines from Itaipu and will allow the country to have all the energy it is entitled to from the dam shared with Brazil.

According to Olade, there are 20 countries worldwide with percentages above 70% in their renewable energy generation, of which 12 are from Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Latin America and the Caribbean report values higher than 61% and contribute with only 4.5% of the total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide,” the organization explained.

The international organization also pointed out that these countries accounted for about 2% of the world population and about 3% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions related to energy.

Meanwhile, the report also showed that during 2020 a total of 26,780 TWh (terawatt-hours) were generated globally, of which 29% were with non-polluting energy sources.

After the report was released, ANDE recalled on Twitter that it was already pushing through with its “Master Plan for the period 2021-2040,” to diverse the country's energy generation matrix towards solar energy with alternative renewable energy sources, through the installation of Battery Banks and Photovoltaic Power Plants.