Central America - Page 8 of 11

Costa Rica’s 7th geothermal plant is 80% complete
April 26, 2018
In Costa Rica’s Guanacaste province, the construction of the Las Pailas II Geothermal Project is 80% complete. The installation of the Mitsubishi Hitachi turbine is exceeding the established schedule, keeping the progress swift, with preliminary tests to begin in October. Elsewhere on the project site, much has already been completed, including transmission, reinjection systems, drilled […]
Costa Rica utility signs MOU with UAE’s Masdar to develop solar and storage
April 25, 2018
Following the recent entry into the region with the UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund, Abu Dhabi-based energy firm Masdar has formed a partnership with Costa Rica. Masdar and state-run utility Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) have signed an MoU to share technical knowledge and project experience for renewable energy development. The agreement aims to promote collaboration […]
IFC funding to encourage clean energy development in Nicaragua
March 15, 2018
Small and medium size entrepreneurs in Nicaragua are getting a big financial lift from a new IFC program. A member of the World Bank Group, IFC is structuring a will provide up to $115 million in financing to Nicaragua’s Banco LAFISE BANCENTRO, S.A., meant to boost access to credit for small and medium entrepreneurs and […]
Panama building first large-scale residential solar installation
February 13, 2018
A joint project between Colombia energy company, Celsia, and Real Estate Group Provivienda will bring solar PV to 350 homes at La Hacienda, in Panamá Oeste, Panama. This residential complex, as a whole, will avoid the emission of 188 tons of carbon dioxide per year and will benefit from representative energy savings. Celsia and Grupo Provivienda will […]
Geothermal leaders meet in Central America to explore increased geothermal capacity
August 23, 2017
Central American countries are world leaders in terms of installed geothermal energy, but have the potential for 20 times current installed capacity. This geothermal potential could serve as a key tool to low-carbon economic development, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), if regional governments can adopt the policy and regulatory frameworks necessary to […]
El Salvador: New solar PV plant contributes to lower electricity price
July 18, 2017
A new solar PV plant is contributing to a lower electricity cost in El Salvador. The 25 MW expansion to the Providencia solar PV plant (now totalling 60 MW) is selling power to the national grid at a price of $0.1019/kWh. According to the Consejo Nacional de Energía (CNE), this price is 18% lower than […]
Nicaragua: Vendor selected for solar + battery storage project
March 17, 2017
ViZn Energy Systems Inc. (ViZn), a leading provider of energy storage systems for utility, commercial and industrial (C&I), and microgrid applications, has been selected to provide a 200kW (four hour) flow battery in Central America. The versatile zinc-iron redox battery from ViZn is being combined with an 800kWp solar array that will enable the Rancho […]
LAC region attractive market for off-grid solar
March 17, 2017
Latin America has 35 and 40 million people in need of electricity, or 5% of the population, making it an attractive market for companies providing solar-powered off-grid solutions. The region has three major areas that largely remain off-grid. Firstly there are significant parts of northern Central America – Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, and […]
Panama solar market booming, will triple solar PV capacity
March 14, 2017
Panama added 46 MW of new large-scale PV capacity in 2016, according to local regulator Autoridad de los Servicios Públicos (ASEP). Seven ground-mount PV plants ranging in size from 500 kW to 10 MW were connected to the local grid, thus bringing the country’s cumulative PV capacity to 89 MW. According to ASEP’s figures, PV […]