The technical specifications for the first expansion works of the Argentine Interconnection System (SADI) are practically ready for publication. According to information obtained by Energía Estratégica , the documentation is currently under review by the Casa Rosada ( Presidential Palace) and the Secretariat of Energy , a necessary step before the call for bids is issued.
Unless further changes occur during this period, the Energy Secretariat will be in a position to publish the call for bids in the coming weeks . Although there is still no official date, various sources agree that the administrative process has entered its final stage.
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The news comes at a particularly sensitive time for the renewable energy market. The lack of available grid capacity has begun to impact the development of new wind farm projects, a situation that is already causing concern among construction companies.
"For many years we had been witnessing the continuous growth of wind farms; it was an activity that never stopped. But today that pace has slowed down," stated Marcelo Palacio , Commercial Manager of New Businesses at COARCO, during the streaming event "It Had to Be Said and It Was Said , " hosted by Energía Estratégica .
The company is currently developing the Olavarría wind farm , where it is installing 29 wind turbines . However, once that project is completed, the outlook appears "less clear regarding what the next step will be for the wind energy market," considering the bottleneck for new investments.
"When we talk to developers, the same issues always come up: transportation restrictions, available line capacity, connection difficulties, regulatory uncertainty. All of that ends up conditioning new investments," said the manager of COARCO.
Until now, the Government had confirmed during the Future Energy Summit (FES) Argentina , held in March, that “transmission tenders are a priority for this year” and that the first documents for the AMBA I project would be available between the end of that month and the beginning of April 2026. However, that timeline was ultimately not met.
The projects the sector is expecting
The first tender will include AMBA I , a project that incorporates new 500 kV and 220 kV lines, an additional transformer station and more than 500 kilometers of electrical infrastructure , allowing the incorporation of up to 1000 MW of additional capacity to supply the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, where about 40% of the national electricity demand is concentrated.
The package also includes the 500 kV Río Diamante–Charlone–O'Higgins line, intended to facilitate the evacuation of generation from Cuyo and part of the Comahue system, in addition to the Puerto Madryn–Choele Choel–Bahía Blanca line, which will strengthen the link between Patagonia and the main system.
As the Government itself had previously announced, these initiatives will have financial backing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) , which will act as guarantor of the projects.
Market expectations are not solely based on these projects. The AlmaSADI program is scheduled to be awarded on July 8 , and several of the companies involved in that process could subsequently submit bids for transmission services.
Meanwhile, the sector believes that the publication of the tender documents will mark the first step towards recovering the pace of investment.
"From the perspective of those of us who build the projects, this naturally generates some concern. We hope that these issues can be resolved in the short term so that the market can return to growth," Palacio concluded.