Seventeen power generation projects in Central America involving 1,232MW are scheduled to enter service in the short term.
The outlook is part of regional grid Siepac operator EOR’s update to its 2023-24 planning report which highlights natural gas-fired projects Puerto Sandino (308MW) in Nicaragua and Gatún (656MW) in Panama.
The balance of the new capacity will come from solar (190MW), biomass (30MW), hydro and wind (20MW each), geothermal (7MW) and diesel (1.1MW), according to EOR.
Plant additions in the first half of 2023 totaled 17 for 328MW, all of which were solar expect for one hydro for 65.7MW.
Installed capacity as of June 2023 (Source: EOR)
On the transmission front, 94 grid modifications are planned, including additions, revamps, withdrawals and sectioning of lines.
Regarding demand, EOR forecasts that offtake will total 30,920GWh in 2H23, up 4.8% year on year, and 64,479GWh in 2024, a 4.5% increase from this year’s projected consumption.
Trade within the regional power market is expected to reach 2,349GWh this half and 4,514GWh next year.
The planning report update is available here and in the Documents box in the upper right corner of the screen.
Source: bnamericas
