Renewables driving down rates in El Salvador

An increase in the contribution from renewables will reduce the average electricity price for the final consumer in El Salvador by 9.74% through April.

Power and telecoms regulator SIGET also said that renewable energies accounted for 67% of injections in the wholesale market last quarter compared with 46% in 3Q19.

Hydro led generation in October-December with 31.1%, followed by geothermal (23.4%), thermo (15.1%), biomass (8.62%) and solar (3.9%), with imports accounting for 17.8%.

SIGET highlighted the startup of new solar plants, higher rainfall and a drop in the international price of fuel oil.

In October, AES El Salvador completed the third and final phase of the 100MW Bósforo solar project.

The rates adjustment comes amid the government’s launch of an economic stimulus plan.

“Nearly half of Salvadoran firms say that the high cost of electricity is one of the biggest barriers to growth,” according to the IFC, which led a US$657mn financing package to back the country’s first integrated LNG to power project.

IN THE PIPELINE

El Salvador’s push to diversify its energy matrix will receive a boost in the coming months when Neoen’s 140MW Capella solar park (pictured), comprised of plants Albireo 1 and 2, comes online.

Other clean energy projects that BNamericas is tracking in the country are hydros El Chaparral (67MW) and El Cimarrón (261MW), the 54MW Ventus wind farm and geothermal plants Chinameca (50MW) and San Vicente (40MW).