El Salvador's electricity distribution companies select SolarReserve's 20 megawatt (MW) Acajutla photovoltaic (PV) project for the country's first utility-scale solar power
SolarReserve, a leading global developer of utility-scale solar power projects and advanced thermal energy storage technology, today announced that it signed a supply contract for its 20 megawatt (MW) Acajutla photovoltaic (PV) solar power project in El Salvador as part of a highly competitive tender solicitation by the local electric distribution companies. The tender, the country's first for utility-scale solar power, was administered by Distribuidora de Electricidad del Sur ("DELSUR"), one of the seven electricity distribution companies in El Salvador, and was overseen by El Salvador's Electricity and Telecommunications regulatory body Superintendencia General de Electricidad y Telecomunicaciones ("SIGET").
The Acajutla project is the first of several in SolarReserve's pipeline of 800 MW of solar power projects in development in Latin America, which includes advanced solar thermal technology (CSP), photovoltaic (PV) technology, and hybrid (combined CSP and PV) solutions that can provide competitive 24-hour solar energy.
"Many Latin American countries, including El Salvador, have experience with renewable energy such as geothermal or hydroelectric. As demand for electricity continues to grow, Latin America represents a great opportunity for solar power development," said Kevin Smith, SolarReserve's CEO. "With the region's excellent solar resource and escalating and uncertain prices of fossil fuels, solar power makes more than just environmental sense – it makes economic sense. We look forward to continuing our work on Acajutla and on our other photovoltaic and solar thermal projects in development in Latin America."
