Coca Codo Sinclair Hydropower Plant: A time bomb in the energy sector for Ecuador or a successful project?

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In Ecuador, the electricity sector has undergone significant transformation over the past 15 years, with a marked increase in renewable energy capacity, particularly hydropower, which grew from 1,707 MW in 2000 to 5,100 MW in 2022. This shift, driven by the need to diversify the energy grid and reduce fossil fuel dependence. Despite its importance, the Coca Codo Sinclair project with 1,500 MW has faced several technical, environmental, and social challenges, including erosion and structural issues, raising concerns about its long-term sustainability. This article aims to analyze these challenges, their causes, impacts, and potential solutions, providing insights for future hydropower developments in similar regions. Coca Codo Sinclair is an example of the ambition of a government that did not follow the recommendations of technical studies on the maximum capacity that could be generated by a plant that now has more problems than advantages, analyzing all the associated drawbacks that the largest hydropower plant in Ecuador, it is important to understand that technical criteria must prevail over political decisions. In order to keep the more than 3 billion dollars of investment going, urgent action is required on CCS remediation works, with a combination of investments in repairs and maintenance activities, improvements in management and governance of the project, therefore, currently the largest plant in Ecuador represents a time bomb that can collapse due to any of the various problems.