A review on the Central America electrical energy scenario

Meza, Carlos

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2014.02.022

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The rest of this article will provide an historical analysis of how some Central American countries overcame the technical, financial, and political challenges to become leaders in renewable energy, a question poorly addressed by the existing literature (Meza, ).…”

Section: Policy Choices On Renewablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Central America has huge potential for renewable energy. The mountainous region offers possibilities for hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, and solar energy (Meza, ). According to the World Bank (, p. iii), geothermal and hydro sources are fully competitive with oil and coal in Central America, given the lack of local resources.…”

Section: Abundant Endowments For Renewables In Central Americamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mostert () notes that all Central American countries underwent power‐sector reforms in the 1990s in response to a lack of investment in new power generation that led to a growing supply deficit. Foreign investment was expected to develop new sources of power (Meza, ). States relied mostly on PPAs and on foreign companies to come and build diesel generators to quickly make up the shortfall, but at a high cost (CEPAL, ).…”

Section: Evolution Of State‐driven Central American Electricity Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nicaragua also generates energy from biomass from agricultural and forestry production waste, led by two sugar mills, Ingenio San Antonio, and Ingenio Monte Rosa (Renewable Energy Focus, ). The Japanese government helped to fund a 1.38‐MW solar power plant in Nicaragua that began service in 2013 (Meza, ).…”

Section: Evolution Of State‐driven Central American Electricity Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Renewable Energy in Central America: One Step Forward, One Step Back, and Another Tentative Step Forward Again

Hira¹

2016

Latin American Policy

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We are at an historical crossroads. The latest IPCC report gives dire predictions about potential losses from climate change, ranging from high sea levels to deterioration of agricultural production. Although emissions are still concentrated in the North, the most‐rapid growth of emissions is occurring in the South, suggesting the need for major changes in the trajectory of its economic development. Massive aid flows for climate‐change mitigation and adaptation lack any clear framework. We begin the task by examining the evolution of Central American electricity systems, seeking to explain the exceptional ability of several countries wracked by conflict, weak institutions, and struggling economies to move toward renewable fuels. We use first‐person interviews, government documents and websites, and consultant and expert reports to examine the largely unrecognized achievements. The necessity of finding alternative energy is not in question, but how these countries overcame the financial, technical, and policy challenges should be of great interest and could potentially provide valuable lessons for other countries.

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Section: Policy Choices On Renewablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Abundant Endowments For Renewables In Central Americamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Evolution Of State‐driven Central American Electricity Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Evolution Of State‐driven Central American Electricity Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Renewable Energy in Central America: One Step Forward, One Step Back, and Another Tentative Step Forward Again

Hira¹

2016

Latin American Policy

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“…However, at the regional level, while the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) provides comprehensive and up-to-date energy statistics, previous research has focused on techno-economic analyses (e.g. Hosier et al, 1992;Apergis and Payne, 2009a, 2009bMeza, 2014), and/ or the implications of reforms, albeit from the perspective of the international financial institutions (IFIs) (e.g. Tomiak and Millán, 2002;Millán, 2007;Lecaros et al, 2010;Cayo, 2011;Reinstein et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electricity in Central America: Paradigms, reforms and the energy trilemma

Gent

Tomei

2017

Progress in Development Studies

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A new global energy era is emerging, one driven by the confluence of energy security, climate politics and energy equity issues. This 'energy trilemma' is shaping the global political economy of energy, which in turn influences how decisions are made about how energy is provided-referred to as global energy governance. This paper analyses historical and contemporary developments in Central America's power sectors. This is a region that has long been an implementation space for global policy priorities, but has been overlooked by those engaging with the challenges of the energy trilemma. During the 1990s and 2000s, the statist model of energy governance gave way to a market-led model in the Central American isthmus. This led to the privatisation of state-owned utilities and the promotion of a regional electricity market. During this period, the dominance of largely hydro-based renewable electricity generation diminished to be replaced by imported fossilbased generation. Oil price increases during the early 2000s highlighted the region's dependence on imports, with some countries turning to energy rationing. Increasingly interventionist state policies, which now seek to reduce oil dependence, improve energy efficiency and expand access to electricity, are being pursued in the region. This interventionist turn reflects the pressures of the energy trilemma, although energy security, particularly the need to reduce dependence on imported oil, remains the most important driver.

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