*Ecuador’s state-owned power generation company, Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador (Celec), has begun the process to develop a new 200MW solar plant in Zapotillo canton, Loja province. Celec said that the ‘La Ceiba’ plant will cover 322 hectares and will include over 400,000 solar panels. The deputy minister for electricity and renewable energy, Fabián Calero, said that the project’s development is part of a broader strategic plan to diversify Ecuador’s energy matrix. The country remains embroiled in a long-running energy crisis caused by low water levels at hydroelectric power stations that has forced the government to enforce electricity rationing and rolling blackouts.