UK based renewable energy company, Hive Energy Ltd., are continuing their global growth with the latest addition to the company, Italo Silva – country manager of Chile.
Italo will manage proposals, planning and development of green projects across the country. His focus will be to develop opportunities within the solar and hydrogen markets, but to also investigate opportunities that may appear in the wider renewable market. Italo will work closely with the companies Argentinian Manager, Horacio López Manzitti. Italo is bringing an extensive background and strong experience to the role. He has a skilled and multidisciplinary background with a key emphasis on renewables, sustainability, and natural resources.
The expansion is in line with Chile’s strong renewable energy agenda. The country is making good progress in the green hydrogen market and Hive are introducing a Country Manager to Chile to actively support the adoption of the innovative green technology. Currently, there are $10Bn of projects under construction across the Country, including generation plants, and green hydrogen developments. In 2021 the Chilean market grew in capacity by 4 GW, with a total renewable energy capability of 11.4 GW today. Chile has plans to replace all thermo power plants for renewable alternatives, this subject is due to be discussed in congress where positive support from the political spectrum is anticipated. If the plans are approved, there will be close to 13 GW of thermo plants that will require supplementation with green energy.
Hive Energy already has outstanding experience in the global renewables field. Argentinian Country Manager, Horacio, is responsible for sourcing and developing green projects in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The pipeline Horacio carries includes a 150 MW development in Uruguay, which is already in progress, and plans for around 3 GW of green hydrogen / green ammonia projects in Argentina.
Hive is yet to begin development of any green projects in Brazil but the move to expand to the country is in line with a huge growth in demand; the Brazilian renewable energy market is expected to reach a 60 GWh capacity by 2030. The growth in Brazil is to encourage competition and reduce the cost of electricity for residents. Consumers can create their own strategy and freely negotiate the commercial terms, including price. A new legal framework in Brazil is pushing renewables to cut consumer costs and combat the water crisis the country is currently facing. Since 2020 the solar capacity for the country has tripled, from 2.4 GW to 7.5 GW.
As well as uncovering the potential of renewable energy across Latin America, Hive Energy are in the development stage of projects. In Argentina the company has secured 42,000 hectares of land in the hope to develop 3 GW of green hydrogen and ammonia projects. The company are also invested in developing sustainable forestry projects, in line with their South African team, Hive Carbon. The Hive Carbon group have patented innovative ‘BioChar’ technology which Hive Energy are striving to implement in Argentina – this will be the first time Hive implements the technology outside of South Africa.
Horacio López Manzitti, Country Manager Argentina, commented on the growth across Latin America: “I am really pleased to see how Hive is growing across the region and investing in new markets. The addition of Italo as Chile Country Manager will allow us to continue growing our pipeline and increase awareness of renewable energy. Although Hive primarily focuses on green energy, it is exciting that we are in the process of developing our other sustainability projects. We will be undertaking forestry projects in Argentina and developing world-leading projects in both the renewable and carbon sequestration markets across Latam.”
Giles Redpath, CEO of Hive Energy, added: “Over the past 12 years Hive has been growing and developing, I am truly delighted that Hive is in a position where we are able to continue expanding to new countries. We recently appointed a Country Manager for Croatia, and along with multiple investments into the circular economy, I am proud of the impact we are having in the sustainability space. Welcoming Italo to the team is yet another positive step for us and I look forward to Hive being part of the renewable change in Chile. The future of green energy is exciting and there is so much potential for us to make a big change to our planet with the technology and skill we have available.”
