This article was originally written and published in Prensa Libre by Luis Mazariegos on under the title La generación eléctrica a base de energía solar ya se ve como una opción de mediano plazo
Every day in Guatemala we make more use of renewable and clean resources for electricity generation, such as geothermal, hydroelectrical, biogas, biomas, solar, wind, and natural gas energy, as to not depend on petrol byproducts and other carbon-based energy sources such as petroleum coke, bunker, and diesel.
At a global level, the renewable energy situation has clearly shifted due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, since the energy supply problems revealed by the conflicthave made renewable energy a great option for the future.
However, currently electric energy generation in the country is based on hydrothermal dispatch, in which hydroelectric and biomas renewal resources complement each other. During the rainy season (May to October) hydroelectricity predominates; and in the dry season (November to April), it is produced from biomass. During the rainy season (May to October) hydroelectricity predominates; and in the sunny season (November to April), it is produced from biomass.
Generation with non-renewable resources such as coal, petroleum coke and intermittent renewable resources such as wind and solar generation are also used and from January to October of the previous year produced 181 GW/h (gigawatts/hour). Geothermal energy can also be a plant based resource for the system.
In this sense, the 2013-2027 Energy Policy under the Ministry of Energy and Mines includes investment in renewable energy projects to diversify the electricity generation matrix, said the vice minister in charge of the energy sector, Manuel Eduardo Arita.
However, these investments come from private initiatives, especially with regard to under-explored areas such as solar energy generation.
“Advancing in the energy transition towards renewable projects is a great achievement since our country has great potential in the field of solar energy, much more than wind generation, so we hope that more projects of this type will be developed in a short time.” the official stated.
Numbers
According to figures from the indicated portfolio, until October 2022 renewable energies accounted for 76% of the total installed capacity in the country and according to the Wholesale Market Administrator (AMM), as of November, the total generation of electricity reached 982.4 GWh.
Of that account, 61.73% is generated by hydroelectric plants; 15.68% is made with biomass; 3.19% is wind; 2.58% by steam; and 1.84%, through solar energy. And Guatemala is in a strategic position for solar projects since the average annual value of radiation for the entire country is 5.3 kWh/m2/day. And Guatemala is in a strategic position for solar projects since the average annual value of radiation for the entire country is 5.3 kWh/m2/day.
In the country, there are various generation plants based on solar energy and the main ones are:
Diego Donis, manager of the Energy division of Grupo Onyx, owner of the HORUS Energy solar energy complex, which is the largest in the country, explained that it is located in Chiquimulilla, Santa Rosa, in an area that covers 274 hectares and consists of 345,000 solar panels equipped with technology that allows tracking the movement of the sun. It has an installed capacity of 110 MW, and with the capacity to inject 80 MW of energy into the national grid and produce around 200 GWh per year.
The executive explained that plants of the size of HORUS Energy require a significant energy sale contract to be financially viable, so the possibility of increasing their power and generation capacity depends on being awarded the open process called PEG. -4-2022, for power and electrical energy, launched last year.
“Our experience has been very positive, the plant has worked as planned. It is a very noble technology and requires low maintenance. The solar resource in Guatemala is one of the best in the region and still has a lot of potential in the southern, southeastern strip and some part of the west with the Mexican border”, he affirmed.
And recently, directors of Grupo Magdalena announced an investment of US$50 million for the construction of a plant of this type located in La Democracia, Escuintla, which will cover an area of 80 hectares and in its first phase will produce 50 megawatts (MW) beginning in the second quarter of 2024.
“With the incorporation of the first phase of the project, around 135 GWh per year will be provided to the national interconnected system. This growth will allow us to increase our market share at the local level and with this integration we will become the company with the most diverse energy matrix in the country, apart from being the first sugar mill to bet on solar generation, encouraging more players in the sector use this type of energy,” affirmed Jorge Leal, general director of Magdalena.
Andrea Ruiz, marketing coordinator, added that “this is the biggest step towards the production of clean energy within its sustainable generation initiative and to develop a work ecosystem focused on the development and innovation of clean energy that allows the sector meet their energy demand with less environmental impact.”
Currently, the group has four generating companies, Ingenio Magdalena, S.A.; Biomass Energy, S.A.; CM Services, S.A.; and Cinco M, S.A.; which together represent 10% of the country’s electricity generation.