AES completes first phase of 100 MW solar park in El Salvador

Guatemalan agroindustrial group CMI and AES El Salvador – the Salvadoran unit of U.S. power distributor AES Corporation – have announced the completion of the first, 30 MW phase of the 100 MW Bosforo solar project, coinciding with the start of commercial operations at the El Carmen solar plant.

The first phase of the project – Bosphorus I – has been carried out thanks to an investment of $48 million and the installation of approximately 132,000 polycrystalline modules, AES said in a press release.

The 10 MW El Carmen plant joins the Pasaquina and La Union projects of the same size, inaugurated in May and July, respectively.

During the second phase of the project, three more 10 MW plants will be built – two in the western part of the country and one in the department of Usulután. In Bosphorus III – the final stage of the project – three more plants, totaling 40 MW, will be built in the central zone of El Salvador.

Part of the financing comes from the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). The project consists of 10 solar power plants with a capacity of 10 MW each, to be located in low income rural areas where many residents depend on remittances from abroad and illiteracy is common, AES said in its initial announcement.

Finnfund – the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd, a finance company that provides long-term venture capital for private projects in developing countries – announced a $15 million loan for the project in January.