Latin American renewables company Verano Energy has announced its submission of a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment for a giga-project seeking to build green hydrogen and ammonia production facilities powered a 5,850 MWp solar generation complex.
Location
Named Horizonte de Verano, the project will be located in Arequipa region in the municipalities Majes and Quilca, Peru and is going to be one of the most advanced green e-fuel export initiatives under development in Latin America. The project will unfold in five phases, gradually working towards producing 1.65 MWp solar farm supporting an annual output of over 420,000 tonnes of ammonia.
An industry milestone
Entry for environmental assessment is a significant milestone for the renewable energy sector specifically in the Green hydrogen and Ammonia industry, positioning Verano Energy as a leader in renewable generation in Latin America. This marks the first Environmental Impact Assessment submitted in Peru for a giga-project focused on hydrogen and green ammonia production in the country.
Project significance
The project is poised to have a significant impact on reducing global carbon dioxide emissions once completely operational. Across its five phases the project will also carry out the production of hydrogen and green ammonia, a sustainable alternative with various applications, from agricultural fertilizers to fuels and chemicals. This will have a solar capacity of 5.85 GWp which will represent nearly half the country’s current installed electric generation capacity.
The outcomes of the project could potentially become alternatives to oil and its by products and playing a significant role in the petrochemical, transport and energy sectors.
Project development
The Verano Energy Peru giga-project will involve the construction of a desalination plant to process seawater on site and feed the water with the electrolysis facility for hydrogen production, subsequently converted into ammonia for maritime transport. This will enable the use of green energy (e-fuels) and in the long run contributing to a greener and cleaner planet.
According to a statement by Verano Energy, several structures will be located in the arid district of Majes, with the desalination plant, pipelines and a terminal being built on the coast in the Quilca district. After processing the hydrogen to ammonia is complete, it will be transported through a 26 kilometer pipeline to the coast storage and distributed facility.
Erick Rojo, the Verano Energy Peru giga-project director expressed his satisfaction with the fact that due to the region’s world leading solar radiation produced during day and wind energy purchased during night from the grid, Verano will be able to transform seawater into a 100 % renewable and zero carbon energy source. He also added that it is important for the local community to be involved in the initiative whose development started in 2022
In a statement the Verano Energy CEO, Dylan Rudney emphasized the scale of the project and highlighted the significance of the project being one of the most advanced green hydrogen giga-projects in the region and probably in the world. This step portrays a radical shift to the end use of contaminating fuels and fertilizers with delivery of a clean and sustainable solution to the plant.
Timeline
Horizonte de Verano is set to commence operations of the first phase in the first half of 2027 basing on the fact that all the necessary permits are expected by mid 2025, with the last phase projected to kick off operation by early 2032.
About Verano energy
Verano Energy was founded in 2012 to address the need for early-stage investment and development of renewable energy projects, particularly in Latin America. Verano’s multidisciplinary team and advisory board have deep experience in all aspects of renewable energy projects from early development, to design, financing, construction, operation, and asset management.
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