Venezuela Moves Forward with Renewable Energy Initiatives

May 14, 2009 - Ministry of People’s Power for Energy and Petroleum, Press Unit of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United States

The Ministry of People´s Power for Energy and Petroleum (MENPET) through the Directorate of Renewable Energy and the Foundation for the Development of Electric Service (FUNDELEC), has moved forward with important initiatives in the national project “Simon Bolivar First Socialist Plan”.

From 2007 – 2013, the plan will convert Venezuela into a world energy power that prioritizes the use of renewable energy (solar, wind, hydroelectric).

Vicente Duran, Director of the Renewable Energy Sector of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, said that between 2008 and 2012, as part of the pilot plan, high and low power will be generated. The project includes the construction of four wind farms, the first in Los Taques, Falcon, and the rest in the states of Sucre, Nueva Esparta, and Zulia, specifically in the Guajira Peninsula.

The installation of 806 photovoltaic systems in remote areas, border regions, indigenous territories and throughout the country; and the construction of wind farms in the Paraguana Peninsula (Falcon) are the two most important advances in the use of renewable energy in Venezuela.

Presently, the directorate of Renewable Energy Sector of MENPET is conducting a study to determine potential sources of energy for which to establish other such projects in the future.

As for the use of other sources of renewable energy, such as geothermal, Venezuela has high potential, specifically in Sucre, Tachira, Aragua, Falcon, and a project is being developed to harness this type of energy.

Presently, in Sucre state, plans are being evaluated that will evaluate the construction of a geothermal plant, which would be the first in Venezuela.