In August, the national installed capacity amounted to 3,013 MW, comprising of 28% hydro power using reservoir technology, 29% run over river hydro, 35% thermal, 7% wind and the rest was photovoltaic.
From a report by the National Public Services Authority:
I. INSTALLED CAPACITY AND FIRM CAPACITY BY AGENT AND BY PLANT
5MW of capacity is the new total of the joint generation of the 86 solar projects that are registered with the National Secretariat of Energy.
Tax incentives included in Law 37 of 2013 and Law 38, as amended this year, are encouraging the development of renewable energy projects such as solar or wind plants in different areas in Panama.
Commercial authorization was received in July by the Energy generators Caribe, S.A., whose installed capacity is 120 MW, Unidad Turbo Generador Condensing 4 (TGC-4) de Pantaleón S.A., with 50.55 MW.
From a Bulletin by the Wholesale Market Authority:
In July the following generators were commercially enabled: Energías del Caribe, S.A., with an installed capacity of 120 MW and Unidad Turbo Generador Condensing 4 (TGC-4) de Pantaleón S.A., with an installed capacity of 50.55 MW.
Of the 34,629 GWh generated in 2015 by the countries included in SICA, 68% came from hydropower, 11% from cogeneration in sugar mills, 11% was geothermal, 9% wind and 0.1% based on biogas.
From a report by Cepal entitled "Statistics of electricity production by countries in the Central American Integration System (SICA)":
A bill proposes renewing renewable energy generation contracts automatically rather than calling new tenders.
The proposal to reform the General Electricity Industry Act, in force since 2014, claims that"... renewable energy contracts remain in force, but do not benefit from the incentive payment of 10% of the base price and annual adjustment for inflation", as established by current legislation."
According to the CNEE the current available power will be able to supply the market for more than 15 years, even in a scenario with increasing demand, therefore it is not recommending new tenders in the short term.
The 'Conclusions' section of the document "Indicative Plans for Generation and Transmission 2016" by the National Electric Energy Commission (CNEE by its initials in Spanish) :
Regional Priority Supply Contracts with the MER have come into effect, and there has been an increase in renewable energy in the generating capacity due to the entry of photovoltaic and wind power.
A preliminary report by the Wholesale Market Administrator provides a summary of results of 2015, with details of the participation in the production and consumption of energy.
The Nicaraguan government's plan for this year includes substantial investments in electricity coverage and electrification.
From the Plan of the Government of Nicaragua 2016:
NATIONAL ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY AND MINISTRY OF ENERGY (ENATREL AND MEM)
In 2016 we will reach a national electricity coverage rate of 90%, electrifying 86,553 urban and rural houses, serving more than 452,000 protagonists with the construction of 623 kilometers of electricity distribution networks in: Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Estelí , Granada, Jinotega, León, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, RAAN, RASS, Rio San Juan and Rivas.
In January, 72% of the energy generated nationally in the wholesale market came from renewable sources, the most noteworthy being the Chixoy hydroelectric plant, which generated 19.35% of the total.
The National Commission for Electric Energy in Guatemala published figures for the wholesale energy market in January 2016.
Of the total electricity generated in the country, 33.8% was generated from biomass, 31.42% came from hydro sources, 14.89% from coal, 12.56 from bunker fuel, 2.90% from geothermal sources, 2.53% from wind power, 1.81% from solar power, 0.05% from biogas and 0.01% from diesel.
The financing agreement between the IDB and the government provides funds to complete the geothermal plants Pailas II and Borinquen I and II of 55 MW each, and other electrical infrastructure.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance:
Authorities at the Ministry of Finance, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a cooperation agreement to finance investment projects CR-X1014 for an amount up to $500 million.
The company has said it is not ruling out expanding the capacity of power generation at the coal-based plant from 300 MW to 600 MW.
The announcement was made by the country manager of the company, Todd Clewett, who confirmed to Capital.com.pa that the land where the plant is located has enough to size double the floor space if required.
The plant, which is part of the Cobre Panama project, uses coal as a fuel source, and the company expects to start operation in 2017 to produce for all of the national electricity system.
On January 1st, the Penonomé wind farm produced a fifth of all domestic electricity generation, or 5.1 GW/h.
According to the Electric Transmission Company, SA (Etesa), the Penonomé wind farm in the province of Cocle, broke the record for energy production on the first day of the year, after reaching an operating capacity of 197.5 megawatts (MW), 21.7% of the national requirement .
After renting it for 12 years, the Costa Rican state power company, ICE, has paid $19 million to acquire the Peñas Blancas hydroelectric plant, 36 MW.
The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) exercised the purchase option which was its right from the start beginning, through the figure of trust, for the construction and operation of the Penas Blancas plant, in 2000.
It has been announced that by the end of the year the specifications to tender the supply of 150 MW in renewable energy will be ready.
From a statement issued by the Agency for Export and Investment Promotion of El Salvador (PROESA):
The Export and Investment Promotion Agency of El Salvador (PROESA) chaired the announcement by the National Energy Council (CNE) that a new bidding process will be started for the procurement of 150 Megawatts (MW) of power focusing on projects based on unconventional renewable sources and exclusive participation in the wholesale market.
On October 20th and 21st entrepreneurs from the region will gather together in Panama City to discuss issues such as the electricity market rules, new and renewable energy projects.
From a statement issued by the International Symposium on Energy:
This year the 8th. International Symposium on Energy seeks to promote spaces for reflection on energy issues, to help analyze the performance and limitations of developing new projects, build consensus, define the options for the energy market and, finally, develop a social impact using the media.