WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version
WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version
WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version
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2.3.8 Peru<br />
Lara Esser, International Center on Small Hydro Power<br />
Key facts<br />
Population 29,549,517 1<br />
Area 1,285,216 km 2<br />
Climate Coastal plain: desertic arid sub-tropical<br />
or arid tropical; Andes sierra:<br />
temperate to frigid<br />
Topography Western coastal plain; high and rugged<br />
Andes in centre (highest point: Nevado<br />
Huascaran 6,768 m); eastern lowland<br />
jungle of Amazon basin 1<br />
Rain pattern Coastal plain: annual average up to 500<br />
mm. Andes sierra: Annual average<br />
range 500-1,200 mm depending on<br />
altitude and location (above 3,800 m<br />
altitude as snow or hail). Wet season:<br />
December to April. Amazon basin:<br />
frequent rains all year long, especially<br />
January to April. Annual average 2,000<br />
mm 3<br />
Electricity sector overview<br />
Peru had, for a long time, successfully utilized<br />
hydropower, until natural gas was discovered and<br />
developed in the 1990s (Camisea project i ), causing<br />
hydropower development to slow down. The<br />
Government is taking renewed interest in<br />
development of hydropower of all sizes, including<br />
small hydropower, since it is seen as a national<br />
resource that can be developed by local<br />
entrepreneurs, with minimal social and environmental<br />
impact. 4 4.78%<br />
Generators<br />
Steam turbines<br />
Combined cycle<br />
Gas turbines<br />
hydropower<br />
5.40%<br />
9.07%<br />
24.30%<br />
0.00% 25.00% 50.00%<br />
Figure 1 Electricity generation in Peru<br />
Source: Ministerio de Energía y Minas 5<br />
Note: Data from 2010.<br />
56.45%<br />
The electrification rate in Peru is about 78.7 per cent<br />
at the national level (2010). Mainly, scarcely populated<br />
areas lack electricity access, showing the need for<br />
electrification in rural areas. Of Peru’s rural population<br />
(more than six million people), 60 per cent does not<br />
have access to electricity. This is one of the lowest<br />
rural electrification rates in Latin America. The access<br />
to grid electricity varies across the different regions:<br />
the Andean North and Amazon region have the lowest<br />
rural electrification rate (22 per cent and 18 per cent<br />
respectively) compared to the more densely<br />
populated and also more easily accessible Coastal<br />
Central and South regions (60 per cent and 71 per<br />
cent, respectively). 6<br />
The effective electricity generation capacity in Peru<br />
reached 8,816 MW in 2011 and its electricity<br />
generation in the national electric market and for selfconsumption<br />
reached 38,509 GWh. 7<br />
Deregulation coupled with privatization in the late<br />
1990s allowed private sector participation in Peru’s<br />
power market allowing private players to contribute to<br />
generation, distribution and transmission. 8<br />
Small hydropower sector overview and potential<br />
Development of the hydropower resources of Peru<br />
started over a hundred years ago. Particular<br />
advantages for this development were the<br />
accentuated topography on the Pacific side of the<br />
Andean chain with its many rivers, and augmentation<br />
of the dry season flows by snowmelt. Hydropower<br />
plants were intended for the supply of local electricity<br />
demands and, increasingly, the requirements of the<br />
mining industry. In the second half of the last century,<br />
regional power networks emerged and hydropower<br />
development began to encompass large-scale<br />
schemes.<br />
In 2011, the total installed hydropower capacity in<br />
Peru was 3,453 MW. 7 According to the Ministry of<br />
Energy and Mining (MEM), in 2010, there were 136<br />
small hydropower plants in 2010 with a combined<br />
capacity of 254.32 MW and individual capacities up to<br />
10 MW. 5 Out of the 136 small hydropower plants, 57<br />
were connected to the grid and 78 were stand-alone<br />
plants. Additionally, 105 plants generated electricity<br />
for the national interconnected system and 30 plants<br />
generated electricity for self-consumption (mostly<br />
mining companies).<br />
Eleven small hydropower projects were under<br />
construction in 2011, adding 69.4 MW of small hydropower<br />
capacity. 4 6 The individual power capacities<br />
range between 1 MW and 10 MW.<br />
There have been three purchase auctions for<br />
electricity from renewable sources (including small<br />
hydropower below 20 MW, wind and biomass). In the<br />
case of small hydropower, the first auction has<br />
awarded approximately 170 MW of small hydropower<br />
with capacities below 20 MW which should start<br />
construction in 2012. The power purchase contracts<br />
run up to 20 years at rates higher than the regulated<br />
market and with an additional bonus for being<br />
renewable. More auctions are expected to promote<br />
renewable energies in the future. 9<br />
There are possibilities for incorporation of small<br />
hydropower projects in existing hydraulic structures<br />
201
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