Ingenio La Unión power station

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Ingenio La Unión power station (Planta cogeneradora La Unión) is an operating power station of at least 85-megawatts (MW) in Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Escuintla, Guatemala.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Ingenio La Unión power station Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Escuintla, Guatemala 14.2672, -91.0973 (exact)[1]

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1: 14.2672, -91.0973

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating[2] bioenergy - agricultural waste (solids), coal - unknown, fossil liquids - fuel oil[3][2][4] 85[2] 1998[3][5]

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner Operator
Unit 1 Ingenio La Unión SA[5] Ingenio La Unión SA[5]

Background

Ingenio La Unión is one of several Guatemalan sugar mills that have developed small-scale electrical plants fueled by a mix of bagasse (sugar cane residue), coal and bunker.[6] The plants typically run on bagasse (cellulose fiber from crushed sugar cane stalks) during the November to May harvest season, occasionally adding coal and/or bunker to the fuel mix between June and October.[7][8][9][10] The Ingenio La Unión plant has a capacity of 85 MW.[11]

Annual reports from the Guatemalan sugar cane trade association Cengicaña indicate that bagasse has accounted for 95 to 99% of Ingenio La Unión's fuel consumption over the past decade, supplemented by decreasing quantities of bunker since the plant's inception in 1998.[12] Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines, in its power generation expansion plan for 2020-2034, also listed biomass and bunker as the primary fuels at the Ingenio La Unión plant.[8][7] However, Guatemala's national energy expansion plan for 2022-2052 shows that the Ingenio La Unión plant was fueled by biomass and coal in 2021[11], and other sources confirm that coal has been one of the fuels traditionally used at the plant.[10][13] The plant uses some of the energy generated within the sugar mill itself while also selling small amounts of electricity to the grid via the Mercado Eléctrico Regional.[14]

At the national level Guatemala continues to move away from coal towards renewables. Under the new contracts signed by national electricity agency EEGSA during Guatemala's February 2020 energy tender, plants burning coal only were expected to account for 8% of national electricity production in 2021 (down from 18% in 2019) while plants such as Ingenio Madre Tierra that use a mix of coal and biomass were estimated to represent 2% of national production in 2021.[15]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. https://goo.gl/maps/xy5Uaggq84ZCoDoU6. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 (PDF) https://mem.gob.gt/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PEG-2022-2052.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 (PDF) https://cengicana.org/files/20210929082458592.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. (PDF) https://www.mem.gob.gt/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Plan%20de%20Expansio%CC%81n%20del%20Sistema%20de%20Generacio%CC%81n%20y%20Transporte%202020-2034.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 https://www.launion.com.gt/productos/energia-electrica-2/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Energía Eléctrica – Ingenio La Unión". Ingenio La Unión. Retrieved 2023-01-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Plan de Expansión del Sistema de Generación y Transporte 2020-2034 (pp 50-51)" (PDF). Ministerio de Energía y Minas de Guatemala. 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Recopilación de la Información de los Simposios de Análisis de la Zafra 1997/1998 – 2014/2015 de Generación de Energía (p 7)" (PDF). Cengicaña: Centro Guatemalteco de Investigación y Capacitación de la Caña de Azúcar. December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Plantas de carbón aportarán 900 MW". Prensa Libre. January 5, 2015.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Ingenios dejan búnker,", Prensa Libre, August 12, 2015.
  11. 11.0 11.1 "Plan de expansión indicativo del sistema de generación 2022-2052" (PDF). Ministerio de Energía y Minas. 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "Boletín Estadístico Cogeneración 1997-2021 (pp 34-36)" (PDF). Cengicaña. September 29, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "Recopilación de la Información de los Simposios de Análisis de la Zafra 1997/1998 – 2014/2015 de Generación de Energía (p 7)" (PDF). Cengicaña: Centro Guatemalteco de Investigación y Capacitación de la Caña de Azúcar. December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. "Informe Estadístico 2019" (PDF). AMM (Administrador del Mercado Mayorista). January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. "Del carbón a la energía limpia: Así son los nuevos contratos de generación de EEGSA". Prensa Libre. February 13, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of bioenergy power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Bioenergy Power Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.