Of the 28 MW of renewable energy tendered in El Salvador, only 8.48 MW were awarded, because most of the participants exceeded the maximum price established by Siget.
On March 11, DELSUR held the opening ceremony of the tender process for the generation of 28 MW of photovoltaic energy and with biogas, of which 8.48 MW were awarded in projects representing a $10 million investment.
In Central America and the Dominican Republic, the installed capacity of energy generation reaches nearly 20,000 MW, of which 62% correspond to clean sources.
Figures compiled by the Latin American Energy Organization (Olade) indicate that by 2017 the installed capacity of clean or renewable energy generators, including wind, hydro, solar and geothermal, exceeds non-renewable sources.
On a 98-hectare site in the province of Chiriquí, InterEnergy launched a solar park with a generating capacity of 40 MW, which required a $48 million investment.
The new power generation park, called Ikakos, will transport the electricity produced to the Mata de Nance substation through a 13.7-kilometre-long transmission line.
According to company representatives, the new power plant located in David has 138,960 solar panels and will contribute 84.58 GW per hour to Panama's energy matrix.
Because of the behavior of the energy supply from renewable sources, between 2017 and 2018 electricity generation increased by 2%.
The latest report of the General Comptroller of Panama, details that in 2018 were generated 10,783 million kwh, which is equivalent to a 1.8% increase over the 10,597 million offered in 2017.
In Panama, bank credit for power generation projects grew 39% by November 2018, and the increase was mainly due to loans for clean energy projects.
According to the latest report of the Superintendence of Banks, in November last year the portfolio of loans granted to the country's industrial sector totaled $3.309 million, equivalent to a 30% increase over the $2.537 million reported in November 2017.
After spending $146 million over six years, Costa Rica's state-owned electricity company finally decided to cancel construction of the Diquis hydroelectric power plant in Puntarenas.
Authorities of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), informed that decided to cancel the hydroelectric project due to the fall in national energy consumption and because the country has sufficient installed electricity capacity to meet demand in coming years.
Helium Energy Panama filed a lawsuit against Etesa for non-conformity with the result of a wind energy tender.
Helium Energy Panama, a wind energy generator, filed a lawsuit in the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice against the state-owned Empresa de Transmision Electrica S.A. (Etesa) for more than $50 million.
The public purchase in question was published on September 11th, 2011, for which Etesa received tenders on November 8th of the same year. The companies that presented their proposals were Helium Energy Panama, Innovent Central America, Union Eolica Panameña and Fersa Panama.
The deadline for the Panama NG Power to submit a clarification of financial information for the construction of the 670 MW natural gas plant was extended to December 26th.
After a judicial ruling was issued in December 2017 allowing Panama NG Power 150 days to prove that it has the economic capacity to develop the project, the process suffered several setbacks, because according to the company's interpretation, the deadline began on March 8, 2018, but the National Public Services Authority (Asep) stated it was expired at the beginning of June of this year.
Lack of legal certainty, electricity theft and social conflicts are forcing businessmen in Guatemala's energy sector to choose to relocate their investments to El Salvador.
Last year, the companies Applied Energy Services (AES) and Corporación Multi Inversiones (CMI), both US and Guatemalan capital, decided to invest $47 million in solar energy projects, encouraged by the facilities offered to the energy sector in El Salvador.
Due to a group of demonstrators who have taken over the Chixoy hydroelectric facility, there is a risk that in Guatemala electricity service rates will increase by up to 10%.
Since September 25th, a group of people claiming the payment of a complementary compensation has taken over the hydroelectric plant Chixoy, one of the most important in the country, and threatens to set it on fire.
In El Salvador, at least 16 companies have registered as bidders in the tender for 28 MW of non-conventional renewable energy, for distributed solar generation and generation using biogas.
Without giving more details about the interested companies, it was reported that more than 16 investors have registered as bidders for technical and financial projects for alternative energy generation.
Due to social conflicts and various legal processes, 16 hydroelectric projects have been halted in Guatemala, which together amount to an investment of close to $1.5 billion.
The Association of Generators of Renewable Energy (Ager) reported that power generation projects have been suspended because of conflicts with communities in the zones, consultation processes with indigenous peoples, and orders issued by the Constitutional Court, many of which which have been in response to claims raised by environmental organizations.These projects, for which no light can yet be seen at the end of the tunnel, represent an installed capacity of 460 MW.
In the last ten years the use of renewable energy has doubled in the country, and currently sources of generation of this type represent between 65% and 70% of national consumption.
According to the authorities at the National Electricity Commission (CNEE), the stability that has been achieved in electricity rates and the lower dependence on oil derivatives, is due to the fact that the country is consuming more energy generated through renewable sources.
The union for the sector stated that in the next months 180 MW of wind energy and 58 MW of solar energy will become part of the country's energy matrix.
Representatives from the Dominican Electrical Industry Association (ADIE) announced that in the remainder of 2018 five projects, representing an investment of around $500 million, will start operating.
During the first four months of the year, 64% of electricity was generated from hydraulic sources, 21% from thermal, 10% from wind, 2% from solar and 2% was from self-generation.
According to the most recent figures from the Comptroller General of Panama, in April 2018, 908 million kwh were generated, equivalent to an increase of 3.3% compared to the 879 million supplied in the same month in 2017.