Last month the World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a project to support El Salvador in increasing its renewable electricity generation and to help harness geothermal heat for direct use.
The US$150mn, six-year ‘Geothermal Energy for Sustainable and Inclusive Development Project in El Salvador’ includes improvements to geothermal resource exploration and evaluation, and to the construction of a power plant.
With the investment, local communities will be able to harness the heat generated by geothermal energy for direct uses, such as food drying and processing, which will in turn benefit the local agribusinesses.
LAGEO, a state-owned company responsible for generating electricity using El Salvador’s geothermal resources, is the implementing agency and will move forward with the installation of a geothermal power plant capable of generating up to 25MW in the Chinameca Geothermal Field which will be connected to the national grid.
Exploratory geothermal work will also be conducted at the same field to facilitate the development of up to 40MW of renewable energy capacity.
Carine Clert, World Bank Country Manager for El Salvador and Costa Rica, said, “This project demonstrates our long-standing collaboration with the Government of El Salvador in building a more resilient and prosperous future. Together with LAGEO, we will work towards the success of this intervention, which will contribute to reducing emissions and creating green jobs.”
President of the Lempa River Hydroelectric Executive Commission (CEL), Daniel Alejandro Alvarez, commented, “The Government’s commitment is to ensure that all Salvadorans have access to clean and affordable energy. This World Bank-financed project is an important step to strengthen our energy system and promote sustainable and inclusive development.”
The project will also increase CEL’s operational capacity enabling it to better manage energy demand and respond more effectively to any supply disruptions.