Sungrow is supplying advanced inverter technology to Zelestra’s 273 MWac San Martín solar plant in southern Peru, now in full commercial operation and billed as the country’s largest photovoltaic installation to date.
The project, located in the high-altitude desert of Arequipa at about 2500 metres above sea level, entered full operation after a rapid 16‑month build from contract signing. Developers say it will support Peru’s shift away from fossil fuels by adding a major source of low‑carbon electricity to the national grid.
San Martín uses Sungrow’s 1+X modular inverter platform, delivered as an 8.8 MW medium‑voltage turnkey solution. The system’s modular design, built around 1.1 MW units, is intended to offer flexibility, simplify maintenance and maintain performance under harsh conditions marked by strong temperature swings and low humidity. The plant is also equipped with bifacial solar panels and single‑axis trackers to capture more sunlight throughout the day.
Once fully ramped up, San Martín is expected to generate roughly 830 GWh of electricity per year, avoiding an estimated 166,549 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines has outlined plans to connect 14 solar projects with a combined capacity of about 2.5 GW to the National Interconnected Electric System (SEIN) by 2028. The scale of San Martín and its recent inauguration by President Dina Boluarte have turned the plant into a reference point for those ambitions, highlighting the government’s effort to ramp up renewable generation.
The project also reflects a deepening collaboration between Zelestra and Sungrow in Latin America. Earlier this year, the two companies signed a major deal for 1 GWh of energy storage capacity at the Aurora hybrid project in Chile.
In Peru, Sungrow says it now holds more than 1 GWh of contracted capacity, supported by local teams handling sales, engineering and after‑sales services as the region’s demand for low‑carbon power continues to grow.
