Enel Green Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Guatemalan energy distributor Comercializadora de Energia para el Desarrollo (CED) for the supply of renewable electricity over the next 10 years.
The deal is for 1.26 terrawatt-hours of power that will be generated by Enel Green Power Guatemala’s five hydro plants, which have been operating for 16 years and have a combined capacity of 164MW.
The plants are located in the departments of Baja Verapaz (12MW Matanzas and 4MW San Isidro), Quetzaltenango (47MW El Canada and 13MW Montecristo) and Quiche (87MW Palo Viejo).
CED is currently the third largest marketer in Guatemala and is part of the agrifood and energy corporation Grupo Magdalena, which represents the third largest generator and the second largest exporter of energy.
Enel said the generation technologies utilised by the two companies are complementary.
“On the one hand, the Magdalena group generators that provide energy to CED produce energy from biomass during the harvest season (end of November to mid-April of the following year) and Enel’s hydro plants generate more energy during the rainy season of the country, which goes from May to November,” it said.
Ingenio Magdalena general manager Jorge Leal said: “We were looking for a strategic ally like Enel to launch this project and satisfy the needs of our clients, providing 100% renewable energy throughout the year.
“We are confident that these alliances will help us offer more profitable energy purchasing options to different sectors in the future.”
Enel Green Power Central America region head Bruno Riga said: “At Enel Green Power we have the experience and capability to meet the specific needs of companies and sectors with high electricity consumption.
“Through these agreements, companies can have a renewable energy supply that allows them to achieve their sustainability goals.”