GUATEMALA HAS ENTERED the international carbon credit market with the commissioning of the 43MW El Canada hydroelectric plant.
Enel Latin America, a subsidiary of the Italian group and owner of the plant, has a long-term contract with the World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund for the sale of emission reduction credits.
The new installation boosts Enel’s installed capacity in the country, where it is already operating the Matanzas and San Isidro hydro power stations, rated at 10MW and 4MW respectively.
According to Enel, locating El Canada on the Samala river in western Guatemala downstream of another hydro plant allows the use of infrastructure already in place, and helps to minimise its impacts on the environment.