Argentina's renewable energy landscape was transformed by the RenovAr program, launched in 2016, and the framework established by Law 27191, which set a target of 20% renewable electricity generation by 2025. From a starting point of just 1.4% of total installed capacity in 2015, the country progressively expanded its non-conventional renewable base through competitive auction rounds that attracted both domestic and international investment. By 2024, installed renewable capacity — excluding large hydroelectric plants — reached 7,450 MW, representing 15.9% of total installed generation capacity and generating 15.8% of total electricity consumed nationwide.
Wind and solar: the leading technologies
Wind power leads Argentina's renewable expansion by a wide margin. With 4,890 MW of installed capacity by 2024, wind accounts for roughly 66% of all non-conventional renewable generation. The geography is decisive: Patagonia — particularly the provinces of Chubut, Santa Cruz and Río Negro — hosts the majority of wind farms, benefiting from wind resources that rank among the strongest and most consistent in the world, with average speeds exceeding 9 m/s at hub height in the best sites. Solar power, with 1,320 MW installed, is concentrated in the Northwest (Jujuy, Salta, San Juan), where irradiance levels are exceptionally high. The remaining capacity comes from biomass, biogas, small hydroelectric and tidal projects. The 20% renewable target established by Law 27191 was nearly achieved — the 2024 figure of 18.7% of electricity from renewables fell marginally short but represented a structural shift in the generation matrix.
The Vaca Muerta duality
Argentina's energy transition is complicated by the simultaneous development of the Vaca Muerta shale formation, one of the largest unconventional hydrocarbon reserves in the world. The country is expanding both its renewable electricity capacity and its fossil fuel production and export infrastructure in parallel. LNG export projects linked to Vaca Muerta production are advancing with a view to generating several billion dollars annually in foreign exchange earnings by the end of the decade. This creates a dual-track energy strategy — decarbonizing the domestic electricity grid while expanding hydrocarbon exports — that mirrors approaches taken by other resource-rich countries navigating the global energy transition. The tension between these two agendas shapes investment flows, regulatory priorities and Argentina's international climate commitments.
Grid integration and transmission constraints
The rapid expansion of wind generation in Patagonia has exposed a structural bottleneck: the national transmission grid was not designed to carry large volumes of electricity from sparsely populated southern provinces to the demand centers of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario. Congestion on the main Patagonia–Buenos Aires interconnection line has caused curtailment of wind generation — meaning that available clean electricity goes unused because the grid cannot physically transport it. The expansion of transmission infrastructure, particularly the construction of new high-voltage lines, has become a central policy priority. Investment uncertainty and the capital-intensive nature of transmission projects have slowed progress relative to the pace of generation capacity additions.
Outlook and data context
Argentina's energy transition trajectory — strong renewable growth, persistent fossil fuel dependence and infrastructure constraints — can be tracked through the detailed indicators compiled by the Secretariat of Energy in the national energy balance. These data cover production, transformation, consumption and losses across all energy sources, providing a comprehensive view of how the country's energy system evolves year by year. Understanding the balance between conventional and renewable sources, and how electricity generation compares to total primary energy consumption, requires integrating multiple indicators. Our dashboard on the national energy balance and our dashboard on energy consumption provide the quantitative foundations for exploring these dynamics across energy types and over time.
