San José power station
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San José power station (La generadora San José, Planta Eléctrica San José) is an operating power station of at least 139-megawatts (MW) in Masagua, Escuintla, Guatemala.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| San José power station | Masagua, Masagua, Escuintla, Guatemala | 14.1632, -90.7879 (exact) |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1: 14.1632, -90.7879
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Emergency/Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Operating | coal: bituminous[1] | 139 | subcritical | 2000 | False |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Corporación Energías de Guatemala SA [100%] | Corporación Energías de Guatemala SA [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): imported
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
San José power station began operating in January 2000 as Guatemala's first coal-fueled power plant.[2][3] The plant is powered by a Mitsubishi ST-1 steam turbine, and its gross capacity is described by various sources as between 120 MW and 139 MW.[4][5][6][7][8] Coal arrives from the Puerto Quetzal San José Terminal.
In 2012, San José's original owner, Florida-based TECO Energy, sold the plant to Bahamas-based Sur Electrica Holding Ltd., doing business in Guatemala as CEG (Corporación Energías de Guatemala Ltd.).[9][10][2]
The San José power station was one of Guatemala's leading electricity producers from 2000 to 2020, supplying 120 MW to Guatemala's national energy grid under a long-term contract with state electricity agency EEGSA that expired in February 2020. In early 2020, EEGSA held a new tender for short-term energy contracts through April 2025, with the stated goal of phasing out coal and moving to less expensive, more sustainable energy sources.[11] The February 2020 tender resulted in San José power station being awarded a 13-month, 10 MW contract from March 27, 2020 through April 30, 2021, with no further commitments beyond 2021.[12] In April 2022, the San José plant was awarded a new year-long contract to supply 30 MW between May 2022 and April 2023.[13]
In 2024, Guatemala’s Ministry of Energy and Mines reported that Energías San José, S.A. was contracted to provide 15 MW through April 2026 under the LA-1-2024 open tender results. However, it could not be clearly confirmed whether this contracted supplier (Energías San José) referred to the same facility as the San José power station listed in this page’s database entry; given the reference, the plant status was kept as operating pending further verification.[14]
As of April 2026, Guatemala's wholesale market administrator AMM continued to list Energías San José, S.A. among the enabled generation agents in Guatemala's wholesale electricity market.[15] As of May 2026, the San José power station continued to operate, described by a May 2026 investigative report as Guatemala's second coal-fired plant.[16] No information on a new supply contract following the expiration of the LA-1-2024 contract in April 2026 was available as of that date.
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ https://www.gem.wiki/Coal_source_methodology_for_the_Global_Coal_Plant_Tracker.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Productos: Generación Eléctrica". CEG (Corporación Energias de Guatemala). Retrieved 2021-01-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Koberle, Alex (2012). "Energizar a Guatemala: propuesta de un plan de electricidad sostenible (p 19)" (PDF). International Rivers.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Plan de Expansión del Sistema de Generación y Transporte 2020-2034 (p 52)" (PDF). Ministerio de Energía y Minas, Gobierno de la República de Guatemala. 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Plan de expansión indicativo del sistema de generación 2022-2052 (p 69)" (PDF). Ministerio de Energía y Minas. 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "San Jose Coal Power Plant Guatemala". Global Energy Observatory. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Pozuelos Buezo, Juan Carlos (March 31, 2011). "Planta de carbón San José, del grupo TECO. Guatemala". Escuela de Organización Industrial.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Plantas de carbón aportarán 900 MW". Prensa Libre. January 5, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "TECO sells Guatemala power plants, exits international business". Tampa Bay Times. September 28, 2012.
- ↑ "Carbón: El oscuro generador de energía". Plaza Pública. July 14, 2015.
- ↑ "EEGSA hará licitaciones para sustituir contrato de la generadora con carbón San José". Prensa Libre. February 5, 2019.
- ↑ "Del carbón a la energía limpia: Así son los nuevos contratos de generación de EEGSA". Prensa Libre. February 13, 2020.
- ↑ "Informe Final: Valuación de Ofertas de Compra de Potencia para el Período Mayo 2022-Abril 2023" (PDF). EEGSA. April 6, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Informe de Gestión 2024". Ministerio de Energía y Minas (Guatemala). Retrieved Jan 16, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Agentes Habilitados en el Mercado Mayorista" (PDF). Administrador del Mercado Mayorista. April 2026. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Jaguar Energy: la termoeléctrica sin plan de cierre de la que depende la promesa de Guatemala de limpiar su matriz energética". Agencia Ocote / CLIP. May 14, 2026. Retrieved May 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
