Elecnor to participate in megaproject set to transform energy in Central America

Elecnor release

Elecnor, the Spanish infrastructure, energy and telecommunications group, has been awarded a contract worth EUR 45 million for the construction of a 230-kV electric power transmission system at a new 378-MW natural gas-fired power plant in Sonsonate Department, El Salvador. 

The new plant is being developed by Invenergy, a leading global privately held developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions, headquartered in the US and acting through its subsidiary, Energía del Pacífico. The plant will transform the energy matrix of El Salvador and Central America as it will be connected to the SIEPAC through several substations. The SIEPAC is an enormous piece of energy infrastructure, spanning almost 1,110 miles and crossing six Central American countries. 

The plant will have a floating storage regasification unit as well as a 27-mile transmission line, associated substations and an underwater pipeline that will allow LNG to be transported to the new plant in the port of Acajutla.

Elecnor will be responsible for designing, supplying and building the transmission system for evacuating the power generated at this new plant. The contract includes 27 miles of 230-kV transmission line with two underground sections stretching 1.2 miles, as well as the construction of 2 new GIS substations and the expansion of an existing one.

The new piece of infrastructure, which involves an investment of around EUR 890 million, will become operational at the end of 2021 and will have a huge environmental, economic and social impact. On the one hand, it will help reduce diesel imports and cut power generation using heavy fuel oil. On the other, it is estimated that the construction of the plant will generate over 1000 jobs, plus a further 80 permanent roles to operate and maintain the plant once construction is complete.