The Lempa River Hydroelectric Executive Commission (CEL) has awarded the contracts for the construction of two geothermal power plants in El Salvador to English-Panamanian consortium InterEnergy following a tender process announced in August 2022.

The aforementioned geothermal power plants are the Chinameca geothermal power plant with an installed capacity of 20 MW and the San Vicente geothermal power with an installed capacity of 10 MW. Plans for the construction of these power plants had previously been announced by CEL President Daniel Alvarez. According to the proposal submitted by InterEnergy, project execution is expected to be completed within two years.

The plans to expand the geothermal power capacity of CEL is part of the government of El Salvador’s commitment through subsidiary company LaGeo. The project will require an estimated investment of USD 620 million.

The expansion plan is carried out through a BOT model (Construction Operation Transfer) for the construction of the new geothermal plants. In this model, the company awarded the contract will handle the investment and construction. After 20 years, the power plants will become property of the state-controlled CEL.

The bidding process initially also had the participation of French company Albioma and Mexican consortium DEREN-GEODESA. However, Albioma dropped out of further participation citing a decision by the company’s board of directors. DEREN-GEODESA submitted a bid for the Chinameca plant, but was more expensive than that offered by InterEnergy. Only InterEnergy submitted a bid for the San Vicente plant.