• $1B–$1.5B investment over five years to build 1 GW of renewable energy capacity in southern Peru for mining operations.
• Largest solar plant in Peru inaugurated: San Martin Solar Park (300 MW), with further projects totaling 450 MW in the pipeline.
• Zelestra targets 3 GW of clean energy across Latin America, with Peru accounting for 30% of total output.

Zelestra, owned by Swedish investment firm EQT, will invest between $1 billion and $1.5 billion in renewable energy infrastructure in Peru over the next five years, focusing on powering the country’s copper-rich southern mining region.

“I’m convinced that most, if not all, of the energy projects we build in Peru will be used to supply mining companies,” said Jose Luis Garcia, Zelestra’s CEO for Latin America. He emphasized that the investment will center on building 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable capacity in Peru, with long-term power purchase agreements with miners offering project stability. “The mining companies have very long-term contracts, and they’re going to have to renew them in the next three years,” Garcia added.

Peru, the world’s third-largest copper producer, hosts major mines such as Freeport-McMoRan’s Cerro Verde, and operations by Glencore, Anglo American, MMG Ltd, and Mexico Group. The majority are concentrated in the southern region—where Zelestra’s developments are strategically located.

On Thursday, the company inaugurated the $177 million San Martin solar park in Arequipa—the country’s largest, with 300 megawatts of installed capacity. The next project, Babilonia solar park (238 MW), will also be built in Arequipa at a cost of $140 million. According to Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, Zelestra has three additional renewable projects in southern Peru totaling around 450 MW.

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Renewable energy remains an emerging sector in Peru, with hydroelectric sources currently accounting for 45% of national generation. Meanwhile, Chinese firms such as China Southern Power Grid and China Three Gorges dominate much of Lima’s power distribution and generation—raising concerns about concentration in the market.

To serve its mining clients, Zelestra has already signed energy delivery agreements with transmission providers like Kallpa Energy. Regionally, the firm aims to develop 3 GW of renewables—including solar, hybrid, and battery-based systems—within five years, with 50% of capacity in Chile, 30% in Peru, and the remaining 20% in Colombia.

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