The U.S. government approved up to $350 million to finance part of the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) power generation plant EDP in Acajutla, El Salvador.
The U.S. government, through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), approved the financing on March 20, 2019, according to the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador.
The electric power generation plant based on liquefied natural gas has started operating in Colón, Panama, with an installed capacity of 381 MW.
The plant, whose construction beganin May 2016, has three generators, three gas turbines and one steam turbine, giving it a total installed capacity of 381 MW.
"...The AES Colón project consists of two stages.The first is the LNG plant and the second comprises a storage tank that is currently 87% complete and is expected to come into operation next year in 2019, explained Miguel Bolinaga, president of AES in Panama, a mixed capital company in which the Panamanian State has a 50.5% share."
In El Salvador, Energía del Pacifico has announced that it has met the requirements to obtain financing, and that it will start construction of the plant in the third quarter of the year.
After requesting an extension to postpone the date of entry into operations, authorities at AES Panama confirmed that the plant will begin operations on September 1.
Construction of the plant started in May 2016 and will have three generators, three gas turbines and one steam turbine, reaching a total installed capacity of 381 MW.
Panama NG Power has been given authorization to postpone until 2020 the start-up of operations of the natural gas-based generation plant to be built in Cristóbal, in the province of Colón.
The energy supply contracts signed between Panama NG Power and the energy distributors Edemet, Ensa and Edechi were modified so that the start-up of the natural gas plant could be postponed until 2020.
Energía del Pacífico has announced the signing of a contract for the purchase and sale of natural gas with Shell International Trading Middle East for the planned power generation plant to be built in Acajutla.
The company Energía del Pacífico (EDP), which obtained the contract to build and operate a 378 MW power plant in the port area of Acajutla, announced the contract with Shell, ending a long process that began in the middle of 2015, when the tender for the supply of liquefied natural gas was announced.
The ASEP has reactivated the license granted to Panama NG Power to build and operate a 670 MW generating plant based on natural gas in Cristobal, province of Colon.
The licenseinitially granted in 2011, was canceledduring the current administration of the Public Services Authority (ASEP) because of delays in delivering information on Panama NG Power's project financing. Now,"... The appeal on constitutional guarantees granted by the Supreme Court to the company has forced the Asep to declare the license valid."
The 380 MW natural gas plant to be built by AES in Panama promises to change the country's energy matrix, and the way energy is generated and distributed in Central America.
The economic flow that has already started with the construction of the gas plant in the province of Colon will be felt not only in the energy sector in Panama, which could become an energy generating and distribution hub in the region, but also in other productive sectors that will benefit from greater stability in energy costs and generate greater dynamism in logistics and shipping.
The construction of the energy generation plant using natural gas by AES Colon will be financed with a syndicated loan from the CABEI, Banistmo, Bancolombia and other banks.
Those involved in the syndicated loan are Banistmo, Bancolombia, the Central American Economic Integration Banco General and Global Bank, reports Capital.com.pa. The plant, which will have the capacity to generate up to 381 MW of energy from natural gas, was announced in 2015 by the company AES Colon, who was awarded the contract to supply 350 MW of power.
Energy EPM which already has a presence in Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama, has reaffirmed its interest in the region with the opening of another branch.
From a statement issued by EPM Group:
The Board of EPM authorized at its meeting on Tuesday the establishment of a branch of its organization in Costa Rica as part of an internationalization strategy that seeks to explore new business opportunities in the neighboring country, listed as one of EPM's target markets.
The possibility that Guatemala has the necessary amount of natural gas for power generation attracts interest from various sectors.
A few weeks ago City Petén discovered a gas condensate reservoir from which, once refined, superior and regular gasoline and diesel and gas could be obtained. At the moment 250 barrels per day of natural gas are extracted and although this is not enough for industrialization, it could be a sign that there is more in the areas that are to be explored, explained Jose Paez company representative.
The Panama company NG Power was the only bidder in the tender to generate electricity from natural gas for 20 years at a price of 8 cents per kilowatt hour.
"The prices are pretty good. We will take the necessary steps to make a final decision for the contracts," said Fernando Marciscano CEO of the Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica, S.A. (Etesa), while downplaying criticism of the bidding process in light of the fact that at last moment only temporarily or permanently licensed firms were allowed to participate, when the tender had originally been open," noted an article in Prensa.com .
A proposed new natural gas plant would supply 120 MW of power to Guatemala.
Promoted by a group of Guatemalan and foreign investors through the company Energía del Caribe, the initiative is to invest $200 million to tap natural gas deposits discovered in northern Mexico.
"Steffan Lehnhoff, CEO of Energía del Cariba, explains that the plant would be installed in northern Mexico near the state of Monterrey, and will purchase natural gas from the United States and then send the energy via the Mexican electrical grid to Tapachula where the substation will connect with Guatemalan station Brillante", reports elperiodico.com.gt.
The ban on power plants based on coal, natural gas or any petroleum product is unreasonable and constitutes an obstacle to development.
In April last year, the municipalities of La Union and Conchagua issued an "Ordinance on the Environment", which expressly prohibited the installation of power plants based on coal, liquefied natural gas or any derivation of hydrocarbons.