WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

2.2 Central America
Jose Hermes Junior Landaverde, Ingendehsa, El Salvador
Introduction to the region
Central America comprises eight countries, namely
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Panama and Mexico.
The climate in Central America varies from tropical to
subtropical; in some countries it is temperate in the
mountainous regions (e.g. Honduras). 1
Table 1
Overview of countries in Central America
Country
Population
(million)
Rural
population
(%)
Electricity access
(%)
Electrical
capacity
(MW)
Electricity
generation
(GWh/year)
Hydropower
capacity
(MW)
Hydropower
generation
(GWh/year)
Belize abefg 0.344 48 85.0 144 388 53 250
Costa Rica abeg 4.658 36 99.3 3 108 9 704 1 682 7 262
El Salvador abeg 6.000 36 86.4 1 312 5 763 472 2 079
Guatemala abeg 14.388 51 80.5 1 477 8 147 891 3 752
Honduras abefg 7.600 48 70.3 1 722 7 127 531 3 081
Mexico abd 113.423 23 97.7 61 155 291 544 11 542 35 796
Nicaragua abeg 5.788 43 72.1 895 3 781 105 326
Panama abeg 3.516 25 88.1 2 391 7 858 1 351 3 971
Total 155 .717 - - 72 204 334312 16 609 56 517
Sources:
a
Central Intelligence Agency 1
b
Organización Latinoamericana de Energía 2
c
International Energy Agency 3
d
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Cartografía 4
e
World Bank 5
f
International Journal on Hydropower and Dams 6
g
Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Multilateral Investment Fund 7
In order to better integrate the power market across
the region and to benefit from economies of scale, the
Central American Energy Electrical Interconnection
System (SIEPAC) started a construction project in 2006
and it is expected to be completed by August 2014. 8
The SIEPAC network will connect six Central American
countries (i.e. Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala), increasing the
capacity of power transfer in the regional market. It
will enable the joint operation and development of
the regional electricity market, ensuring the safety and
quality of electricity supply so that any authorized
agent may buy or sell electricity regardless of their
geographical location. Globally, this project represents
an investment of US$494 million and will link the
whole Central America region, from Guatemala to
Panama. 8 Some countries, such as Honduras, are net
electricity importers.
The Energy and Environment Partnership with Central
America (AEA) is an initiative that originated from the
framework of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg in 2002. It aims to
promote renewable energy in Central America and
contribute to sustainable development and climate
change mitigation. AEA is supported by the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Central American
Integration System (SICA), the Central American
Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD)
and the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).
Support is provided to governmental institutions,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the
private sector for renewable energy projects.
Small hydropower definition
Definition of small hydropower is only available for
some countries (table 2).
A transmission line of 103-km at 400 kV linking Mexico
and Guatemala started its commercial operation in
2010, increasing the reliability of electric supply,
allowing energy transfers to the SIEPAC countries, and
promoting investments in new electricity generating
plants to serve the regional electric market. It has an
initial capacity of 200 MW in the direction towards
Guatemala and 70 MW towards the opposite direction.
Mexico is connected to Belize with a transmission line
of 65 MW capacity. To the North, Mexico has 11
interconnections with Texas and California (USA), with
capacities ranging from 36-800 MW. 9
158