At a Glance: Guatemala power expansion plan

Renewable energies may gain new impetus in Guatemala under the administration of Alejandro Giammattei who took over as president from Jimmy Morales on Tuesday.

Giammattei already participated at COP25 with his energy minister Alberto Pimentel, a sign of what to expect from the incoming government.

Also Read Clean energy on Guatemala president-elect’s radar and Wind projects set to pick up in Guatemala

Against this backdrop, the energy and mines ministry’s energy mining planning unit UPEM has released a 2020-34 power generation and transport expansion plan, which prioritizes diversification to supply electricity at competitive prices and reduce greenhouse gases.

(The 285-page, 2020-34 master plan is available here, in Spanish.)

The roadmap forecasts that demand and capacity in a medium scenario will grow 60% and 45%, respectively.

To cover projected demand, the plan identifies 60 plant candidates for nearly a combined 2,700MW.

Regarding natural gas and its recent introduction into Central America with LNG in Panama and next year’s scheduled startup of similar operations in El Salvador, UPEM catalogs its use in Guatemala as an “interesting option.”

On the transmission front, estimated investment totals US$275mn, with short-term works targeting reinforcement of the Peten area.

Proposed infrastructure in 2025-29 includes shoring up the 230kV grid and the interconnection with Mexico.

PERSPECTIVE

In the World Energy Council's (WEC) 2019 Trilemma Index, which ranks countries in terms of their ability to provide a secure, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy system, Guatemala was ranked 88 of 128.

“Guatemala presents a reasonably balanced Trilemma triangle, and an improving equity index (more than 30% growth compared to the 2000 baseline). This is driven by large numbers of Guatemalans having access to greater levels of power over the last two decade,” according to WEC.