Guatemala wants 700 Megawatts of gas to power its electricity in a tender

Guatemala has announced a tender for 1500 megawatts of new capacity in electricity generation to meet the growing demand. Around 700 MW will be awarded to LNG-based projects.

"Guatemala anticipates contracting at least 700 MW firm power in one or more facilities, located on the coasts of either the Atlantic Ocean, or the Pacific Ocean, that will receive LNG vessels. The government of Guatemala, through its minister of energy and mining Victor Hugo Ventura said that this will meet the country's dynamic electricity needs.

During an interview conducted on the sidelines a London industry conference, the Minister said that natural gas will be one of Central America's main economic drivers.

We are confident that natural gas will allow us to achieve a much higher efficiency. "We consider natural gas to be a key part of the transition towards a low-emission economy."

The deadline for the tender is November, and it is open to companies around the world.

Guatemala is one of the 10-20 countries that are most affected by climate changes. Guatemala is located in a region called the Central American Dry Corridor where extreme weather events such as hurricanes and prolonged droughts have caused extensive damage over the last decade.

Hurricanes have damaged infrastructure including power plants and transmission lines, as well as distribution networks.

Guatemala implemented an energy transformation strategy which has allowed it produce between 55% to 70% of its energy using renewable sources.

In the event of a dry year with low rainfall, there is a major impact. This tender is aimed at securing firm energy to produce 365-days-a-year with lower emissions. "This can only be done with fuels like natural gas," said the minister. (Reporting and editing by Leslie Adler; Marwa Rashad)

(source: Reuters)