Las Palmas power station

From Global Energy Monitor

Las Palmas power station (Planta Eléctrica Las Palmas 2) is an operating power station of at least 66-megawatts (MW) in Escuintla City, Escuintla, Guatemala with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Las Palmas power station Escuintla City, Escuintla, Guatemala 14.262131, -90.799063 (exact)[1]

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • 1, Unit 2: 14.262131, -90.799063

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
1 Operating[2][3][4] fossil liquids: heavy fuel oil[4] 66.8[4] internal combustion[4] 1998[2]
Unit 2 Retired coal: unknown, bioenergy: agricultural waste (solids) 83 subcritical 2011 2021

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner Parent
1 Inkia Energy [100%][5] I Squared Capital [100.0%]
Unit 2 Inkia Energy [100%][5] I Squared Capital [100.0%]

Background

The Las Palmas power station features two units. The original Unit 1 (89 MW) is fueled with bunker.[6] In 2008 Duke Energy announced that it would invest US$150 million to build a new coal-fired Unit 2 at its existing Las Palmas plant, with an installed capacity of 83 MW.[7][8] By 2011 the plant had entered its testing phase, and shortly thereafter it began commercial operations.[9]

In 2016 Duke Energy announced its intention to sell all of its Guatemalan energy assets to global infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital, which in turn arranged to have Las Palmas 2 transferred to its Guatemalan subsidiary Orazul Energy Guatemala.[6][10][11]

As recently as 2019, the Las Palmas 2 plant was still listed in annual reports published by Guatemala's energy administrator AMM[12], though the Guatemalan government has recently taken steps to move away from coal-fired electricity towards renewable energy sources.[13]

Recent reports from Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines, including the power generation planning report for 2020-2034 and the energy expansion plan for 2022-2052, have shown the Las Palmas power plant to have a single 67 MW unit fueled entirely by bunker rather than coal.[14][15] The 83 MW coal-fired Unit 2 was not included in the energy reports for 2020-2034 or 2022-2052.[14][15]

In Inkia Energy's 2021 Sustainability Report, the company stated it had closed its coal plant, specifying "Las Palmas II 83 MW power plant." [16] Again in its 2022 Sustainability Report, Inkia Energy maintained that it had closed Las Palmas II as part of its decarbonization strategy and further noted:

"Las Palmas II 83 MW coal power plant was disconnected from the grid and put is [sic] in preservation mode in 2018, then divested in July 2021."[17]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20240125150110/https://www.google.com/maps/place/Las+Palmas+I+Power+Plant/@14.263051,-90.8007537,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x8588e34243757b79:0x8f5c9b62341dbd7f!8m2!3d14.2638177!4d-90.7994552!16s%2Fg%2F11ft5sgxy3?entry=tts. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125085819/https://dialogochino.net/en/climate-energy/38222-mapping-thermoelectric-energy-in-latin-america-decarbonization-energy-transition/. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125105925/https://inkiaenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Reporte_Sostenibilidad_2021.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125093030/https://mem.gob.gt/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PEG-2022-2052.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125135824/https://inkiaenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2022-Sustainability-Report-1.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Duke Energy se retirará de Guatemala, está en proceso de venta de 3 generadoras". Revista Estrategia & Negocios. September 7, 2016.
  7. "Carbón abre paso a la hidroenergía". El Financiero (Costa Rica). October 5, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "Inaugura planta de carbón". La Hora. August 29, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Noaldo Bracamonte González, Pável César (September 2012). "DISEÑO E IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE PLAN DE LUBRICACIÓN A MAQUINARIA Y EQUIPO DE GENERACIÓN ELÉCTRICA PLANTA LAS PALMAS II, DUKE ENERGY" (PDF). Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Facultad de Ingeniería.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "Duke Energy Sells Latin American Businesses to I Squared Capital". LAVCA | The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America. December 20, 2016.
  11. "Resolución CNEE-245-2017" (PDF). CNEE (Comisión Nacional de Energía Eléctrica). November 28, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "Informe Estadístico 2019" (PDF). AMM (Administrador del Mercado Mayorista). January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "Del carbón a la energía limpia: Así son los nuevos contratos de generación de EEGSA". Prensa Libre. February 13, 2020.
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Plan de Expansión del Sistema de Generación y Transporte 2020-2034 (p 53)" (PDF). Ministerio de Energía y Minas de Guatemala. 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. 15.0 15.1 "Plan de expansión indicativo del sistema de generación 2022-2052" (PDF). Ministerio de Energía y Minas. 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. "2021 ANNUAL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT" (PDF). Inkia Energy. 2022. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 5 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. "2022 ANNUAL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT" (PDF). Inkia Energy. 2023. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 5 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.