AES' Meanguera del Golfo solar plant—the first of its kind in Latin America—relies on enhanced solar-plus-battery storage technology to deliver uninterrupted, carbon-free electricity to isolated island communities and support economic growth in the Gulf of Fonseca region of El Salvador.
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Why is the El Salvador power project important?
The power project, which began taking shape in 2013, is important for El Salvador because it offers cleaner energy production, replacing heavy fuel oil for power generation while offering flexibility the country needs to support the addition of more renewable energy resources to the national power grid.
Why is El Salvador a big importer of electricity?
El Salvador currently imports about one-quarter of the country's total electricity, making it the largest importer of electricity in Central America. Government officials have said the heavy reliance on imported power creates energy security risks, along with providing an economic challenge.
Carral said financing was completed in December 2019, and represents a foreign direct investment of about $1 billion for El Salvador—the largest private investment ever made in the country.
“The LNG delivered to the FSRU will be regasified and transported from the FSRU to the power plant through an underwater gas pipeline designed and built by the maritime infrastructure contractor Boskalis,” Carral said, with the regasification and power generation systems onboard the FSRU provided by Wärtsilä Gas Solutions.