Invenergy and BW LNG have secured financing for Central America’s first floating storage and regasification unit. Invenergy, a global sustainable energy developer, and BW LNG, a subsidiary of the maritime company BW Group, have reached an agreement with IDB Invest for a $128.3 million financial package. The funds will facilitate the purchase and conversion of the BW Tatiana LNG carrier to an FSRU that will be permanently stored at the Acajutla port in Sonsonate, El Salvador. The BW Tatiana conversion process has already begun, a representative with Invenergy said. According to the statement, Invenergy and BW LNG will jointly operate and maintain the FSRU. The FSRU will have 280 MMcf/day of regasification capacity and 137,000 cubic meters of LNG storage capacity.
The FSRU is part of a 378-MW LNG-powered plant that will provide 30% of El Salvador’s energy demand and contribute to the country’s energy mix. The project will reduce carbon emissions by 600,000 st/year and will produce 99% less sulfur dioxide, according to environmental impact studies available on Energia del Pacifico’s website. The plant will connect to the Central American Electrical Interconnection System, which connects the power grids of Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador through a 230-kV electric transmission line. The Energia del Pacifico project will be completed in 2022. The company’s finance partner, IDB Invest, is the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Group and is owned by 47 member countries — 26 in the Latin American and Caribbean region.