Introduction
Central America is rich in renewable energy resources and there
exists tremendous opportunity to harness this potential. The region
has a total installed generation capacity of 12GW. Guatemala and
Costa Rica have the largest capacity, with approximately 3GW each,
followed by Honduras and Panama, with just over 2GW each, and El
Salvador and Nicaragua, with 1GW each. As a whole, Central American
countries generated 43TWh in 2011.
Historically, Central America has been powered mostly by
hydropower, but in the mid-1990s hydro's share dropped as it
began to be replaced by fossil fuels. In the mid-2000s, increasing
shares of renewables, such as wind in Costa Rica, Honduras, and
Nicaragua, decreased the region's dependence on oil.
Encouragingly, despite the range of fossil fuel options now
available, the region is continuing to expand its use of renewable
energy, a trend that is in the global interest as well as the
economic, social, and environmental
