Renewable energy specialists gave a discussion to encourage the use of electric vehicles at the International Seminar “Infrastructure related to electromobility”, organized by the Paraguayan Association of Renewable Energies. The event took place in the Villa San Juan Hall, at the Polytechnic and Artistic University of Paraguay (UPAP), with a large attendance of students.
Engineer Eduardo Viedma, president of APER, encouraged the use of electric vehicles and highlighted that the use of renewable energy would be beneficial for the country economically and environmentally. He pointed out that the installation of chargers is a necessity for electric mobility to take off in the country.
The renewable energy specialist highlighted that the consumption of electricity in an electric vehicle on a trip from Asunción to Ciudad del Este has a cost of G. 40,000 in recharging, while in a conventional vehicle the price would be around G. 400,000 in fuel.
“In this workshop, a study carried out by the APER was presented in which it was possible to determine where electric chargers can be installed in Paraguay, in the next 10 years, to encourage and give security to people to be able to change their combustion vehicle to a electric vehicle,” said engineer Viedma.
Eduardo Viedma, President of the UPAP Board of Directors, indicated that this is an important opportunity for Paraguay due to the availability of renewable and sustainable electrical energy. Viedma stressed that through APER we seek to contribute to making electrical sovereignty a reality.
“The simplest comparison is the cell phone, we charge it at night, in the morning it is fully charged and we use it throughout the day. The same thing happens with the electric car. You can charge at home and every day you wake up with a full tank,” said Viedma.
Viedma highlighted that the APER was founded in 2005, so it will celebrate 20 years of its foundation in 2025. The organization aims for Paraguay to be sustained in the future with renewable energy in various areas, but one of its fundamental objectives is to promote the use of electric vehicles in the population.
Finally, engineer Víctor Giménez, vice president of APER, closed the seminar and highlighted the support of private companies in relation to the installation of electric chargers. During his conversation he urged taking advantage of the clean and sustainable energy of the Itaipú Binacional and the Yacyretá Entity hydroelectric plants.
“Paraguay should be the largest energy exporter, not the largest energy consumer. We must realize that innovation in technology is the main thing, we are going to buy new things at good prices. I invite you to follow, collaborate and train. Today we have an Energy Law, that means a lot of work because the energy industry will never stop,” said Giménez.
Electromobility is concentrated in Asunción, Ciudad del Este and Encarnación
For his part, lawyer Javier Díaz spoke about the “Experience of electric mobility in the country” by emphasizing that it is an enormous benefit and that the economic and environmental advantages that electromobility offers to users must be taken advantage of.
“Every day we wake up with a full tank, that is the reality of electric vehicle owners. We charge in our homes and the chances of being left without power are zero. We can dream that all Paraguayans will save a lot of money on fuel,” said Díaz.
Mostly students from the Faculty of Arts and Technology of some universities, as well as engineering deans, participated in the seminar. During several moments, an interesting “feedback” was recorded through questions and answers, between the specialists and the university students.
One of the topics developed was “Current News on Electric Mobility and Chargers”, which was carried out by the economist Diego Lovera, general manager of the Chamber of Automotive and Machinery Distributors (CADAM). Lovera pointed out that there are currently around 1,500 electric vehicles in Paraguay and that it would be an achievement to reach 10% of 100% of the vehicle fleet in 2030.
“The electric vehicle is easier to use. The combustion engine no longer exists, but the battery becomes the most important component, 60% of the value of the vehicle passes through the battery. The price of electric vehicles is going down and will continue to go down,” Lovera said.
The national experience with charging stations
Subsequently, it was the turn of the Director of New Automotive Projects, engineer Raúl Fernández, who spoke about the “Experience in charger installations.” In that sense, he assured that there are currently 82 electric charging stations nationwide.
“We have managed to have electric charging stations in six departments of Paraguay, located in Central, Ciudad del Este, in Pedro Juan Caballero and then we are going to go along the Transchaco Route. Today, 650 km of the national territory are covered with electric charging stations,” said Fernández.
Likewise, engineer Juan Domanizcky presented the results of the “Feasibility study on electromobility with emphasis on charging infrastructure.” Consequently, he noted that the work focused on the possibilities of locating charging points along national routes.
“We concentrate on Asunción, Ciudad del Este and Encarnación, which are the main consumption centers. To give you an idea, 80% of the vehicles are in Asunción and surrounding areas. 15% in Ciudad del Este and 5% in Encarnación,” said Domanizcky, coordinator of the Center for Innovation in Energy Technologies of the Itaipú Technology Park.
In addition, our project manager indicated that surveys were carried out with experts to identify the needs of each municipality when installing a vehicle or defining where electric charging stations are planned to be placed.