AES El Salvador and Corporación Multi Inversiones have announced an investment plan that includes the construction of ten solar plants with capacity to generate 10 MW each in different areas around the country.
The solar power generation project will be operated by AES El Salvador, and is expected to be developed in three phases, according to the two companies involved in the initiative.
AES has started to operate a 2.5 MW photovoltaic power plant in Moncagua, San Miguel, and announced plans to build three plants of 10 MW each in 2016.
The company's president, Abraham Bichara, told Elmundo.sv that "... there will be three modules of 10 MW each in which we are investing at least $45 million, at $1.5 million per megawatt, and we have already identified the land. "
The new mayor will maintain the ban on power plants using coal or bunker fuel, but accepted those running on clean energy.
The new mayor of the municipality of La Union, Ezequiel Milla, has amended a decree prohibiting the installation of power plants that used coal, liquefied natural gas or any derivation of hydrocarbons as fuel, which was not conducive to investment in the city.
The tender for the purchase of 350MW for 15 years has to be repeated after having been declared void on the first occasion, and for the fourth time there will be a competition for the provision of 70MW for 5 years.
The Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET) must provide new tender condition documents, dealing with the main obstacle in previous contests, limiting bids to suppliers of electricity generated by renewable resources, exclusively gas or coal.
The General Superintendency for Electricity has set a new date, February 9th 2012, for the deadline for submission of bids for the long term supply of 350MW.
With this move the regulator has ruled in favor of the company Cutuco Energy who appealed against a change in the date.
"According to the timetable set by SIGET for this contest, which is led by DelSur, financial bids should have been received from the generators interested by Jan 6th 2012.
Having required an investment of $58 million, the first power plant fueled by methane gas in Central America has begun operations.
The plant, which uses gases from the Mides landfill as its main raw material, has an initial average generation capacity of 6MW.
"The landfill handles more than six million tons of solid waste, and the AES plant has installed 3000 meters of piping to extract the gases from garbage,” reads an article on Elmundo.com.sv.
AES will develop the country’s first methane gas power plant.
Works are scheduled to begin on July 7, starting operations on early 2011.
Luis Pérez, manager of the project AES Nejapa, told Elsalvador.com that “this is a modest plant, which will initially generate 6MW, but has enough technical capacity to eventually output 24MW”.
AES expects to increase the plant’s production in two MW every two or three years, depending on how much solid waste is accumulated in the landfill.