The Development Bank of El Salvador has a credit line for replacing equipment with more efficient technology in terms of energy consumption.
The Development Bank of El Salvador (BANDESAL) has $17 million available in a credit line to grant to companies who opt to renew their equipment and use technologies which lead to energy savings.
Anel de Chahín, administrator of BANDESAL’s development program, reported that to date they have granted $10.2 million in loans to 68 companies, according to Laprensagrafica.com. "This credit line finances investments for efficient use of resources such as energy, water, waste and investing in clean energy such as hydro, wind and solar power," said the executive.
Not too long ago it was difficult to get funding for solar projects. Currently, 15% returns are attracting investors like Warren Buffet, Google and Metlife.
A short time ago investing in solar power generation was risky unless it had the guarantee of backing from the United States government, but today, the outlook for profits, around 15% of the investment, has made it an attractive business to get into.
El Salvador needs to diversify its energy supply, increasing power generation from renewable sources.
In order to diversify, the country needs to venture into renewable energy generation, specifically solar power which could be developed quickly.
The country already has the necessary studies to develop this technology, said Rainer Schroer, director of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Central America at the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ).
Bidding for the installation of solar panels at the Cerron Grande and 15 de Setiembre dams will take place in February.
Luis Garcia, manager of the renewable energy department of the Executive Hydroelectric Commission of Río Lempa (CEL), said that with the installation of the panels on the two hydroelectric power plants approximately 0.5 MW will be generated. He added that this will be the starting point for developing solar energy projects.
The photovoltaic electricity generation project developed by CEL confirms the great potential for solar energy production in the country.
The project being developed by El Salvador's Lempa River Hydroelectric Executive Commission (known as CEL in Spanish) will evaluate different kinds of photovoltaic energy for future investments in the country.
La Prensagrafica.com reports comments from César Villalta, head of the Central American José Simeón Cañas University (UCA in Spanish): "The preliminary results of the project, which will be refined over time, suggest that generators placed on CEL's roof terrace a year ago are able to generate more energy than the best placed solar panels in Spain".
Spanish corporation Solar Millennium will conduct a study to assess the potential and possibilities for solar energy generation in the country.
CEL, the nation’s energy company, signed an agreement with Solar Millennium to share knowledge and technology for generating solar energy.
“Hugo Martínez, Salvadoran chancellor, had previously commented the possibility of working with this company, who has experience with solar power in other markets.
In its plan to foster renewable energy production, the National Energy Council (CNE) plans to install the country’s first solar power plant in 2016.
Luis Reyes, CNE’s executive secretary, remarked that they intend to install a concentrated thermal solar energy, which differs from the technology known as photovoltaic panels.
“However, the project’s main limitation is its high cost.
Solar Millennium, an energy company from Spain, will conduct a feasibility study for large-scale solar energy production in El Salvador.
The announcement was made by Hugo Martínez, El Salvador’s Foreign Relations Minister, after meeting in Spain with Enrique Martínez-Pomar, director of Solar Millennium.
“We know that El Salvador has good conditions for generating energy through various sources, such as solar, geothermal, hydroelectric and wind power. This study will show us the real possibilities for reducing our dependence on bunker fuel energy, which is not only expensive but also harmful to the environment”, said Martínez.
CEPAL published statistics on Central America’s energy sector up to 2009.
Electric energy production reached 39.114 GWh for the six Central American countries, 0.1% less than 2008. This is due to less energy consumption caused by economic deceleration. Energy consumption dropped in El Salvador (-3%), Honduras (-1.3%) and Costa Rica (-1%), while it increased in Panama (7.3%), Nicaragua (4.3%) and Guatemala (1%).
The Energy and Environment Partnership with Central America (EEP) has made these resources available as seed capital for renewable energy projects.
Entrepreneurs interested in developing renewable energy projects can now apply and receive funds to pay for feasibility studies plus assistance in getting loans from commercial banks.
From Elsalvador.com: “Salvador Rivas, regional coordinator of the program, explained that countries also offer tax cuts and benefits for this type of projects”.
Design and installation of photovoltaic systems, residential, commercial, grid tied and off grid, solar street lighting.
Organization that operates in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama
Phone: (503) 2289-9073
The $30 million initiative intends to foster energy generation through solar panels in Salvadoran Hotels.
The funds will be provided by the Multisector Investment Bank (BMI), and KfW, Germany's government-owned development bank.
Samuel Salazar, director of Fiagro, a Salvadoran foundation for agricultural technology innovation, told newspaper Laprensagrafica.com: "...the project wants companies to protect the environment and save money by using solar power for lighting or water heating".
'Euro-Solar' was started in 2007, and aims to provide solar energy based electricity to 600 rural communities.
El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Paraguay were the original beneficiaries of this project, however, Honduras was excluded from the contract signed today.
"After the Coup d'état ..., the European Union suspended all bilateral aid for Tegucigalpa, and minimized communications with the current government..." reports Elnuevodiario.com.