Guatemala Energy Situation

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Guatemala

Capital:

Guatemala City

Region:

Latin America

Coordinates:

14.38°N, 90.30°W

Total Area (km²): It includes a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.

108,890

Population: It is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin.

17,602,431 (2023)

Rural Population (% of total population): It refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.

47 (2023)

GDP (current US$): It is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources.

102,050,473,864 (2023)

GDP Per Capita (current US$): It is gross domestic product divided by midyear population

5,797.52 (2023)

Access to Electricity (% of population): It is the percentage of population with access to electricity.

99.10 (2022)

Energy Imports Net (% of energy use): It is estimated as energy use less production, both measured in oil equivalents. A negative value indicates that the country is a net exporter. Energy use refers to use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, which is equal to indigenous production plus imports and stock changes, minus exports and fuels supplied to ships and aircraft engaged in international transport.

32.84 (2014)

Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption (% of total): It comprises coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas products.

37.38 (2014)

Source: World Bank

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Introduction

Guatemala is located in Central America. It shares its borders with Mexico in the north, Belize and Honduras in the east, and El Salavador in the south. On the west, the country borders the Pacific, with a much shorter northeastern Caribbean coastline. The country's major cities are: Guatemala city -the capital-, Quetzaltenango, Escuintla, Livingston and Puerto Barrios. 

Guatemala is divided topographily into four general regions: central-western highlands, southern volcanic regions of the Sierra Madre, tropical coastal lowlands, and the low northern plateau, which is mainly jungle.

Guatemalan Borders

Predominantly, Guatemala is an agricultural socitey, where farming is the major economic activiy, with forestry and mining close behind. The best soils suitable for farming are located on the Pacific coastal line, while the soil in the Peten tends to erode quickly, and highland soils are better protected because of coffee cultivation.

Guatemalan climate varies with accordance to the altitude of the region, and the proximity to the coasts. The tierra caliente (hot country), which extends from the sea level into 750m above sea level, and its temperature is around 29°-32°C. The tierra templada (temperate country) extends from 750-1660m above sea level, with day temperature 24°-26°C, and night temperatures 15.5°-21°C.The tierra fria (cold country) extends above 1660m above sea level with an average temperature of 26°C at day, and 10°C at night.

The country's main natural resources are predominantly: petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle and hydropower, with approximately 41.2% of the land used for agriculture (14.2% arable land - 8.8% permanent crops - 18.2% permanent pasture), while forest represents 33.6% of the land. 

In terms of energy, Guatemala comes as the second largest Central American power market, with a total generating capacity of 4.2GW. Guatemala total energy generation capacity in 2016 was 10.9TWh, of which 41% came from fossil-based generation, 24% from large hydro, and 35% was from renewables (small hydro, wind, solar, biomass and geothermal).

Energy Situation

Overview 

Guatemala shows high dependency on firewood, especially for residential demand. Though the country has a high potential of natural resources for energy generation and production, with approximately 34% of forestry richness of the total national territory, yet Guatemala still highly depends on hydrocarbons for supplying industrial and productivity sectors.

Due to this high dependency on hydrocarbons, Guatemala categorizes as a net energy importer. However, the Guatemalan authorities have planned and implemented significant measures to change the country's energy mix, and promote further energy production sources, including renewables.

Guatemala Energy Flow Chart (Espinasa et al., 2013)

Though firewood represents the main source of energy for household/residential across the country (app. 63%), yet, biomass has started to gain significant importance to meet the continuously increasing energy demand. Thus being encouraged by the domestic investment by local sugar industry, which has started producing biodiesel and energy from sugar-cane pulp.

Table.1: Other Guatemalan Sources of Energy

Source	Diesel	Gasoline	Fuel Oil	Biodiesel from Sugar Cane Pulp + Propane
Percentage	12%	8%	4%	3%

Forced by the continued power supply constraints to meet the increasing demand, the Guatemalan government had to issue more power supply contracts with private companies, which allowed the growth of the installed thermal generation capacity. Thus being nearly 400% during the period 1993-2002, with other facilities being built as well to add more generation capacity to the country's scheme during the same period. Two geothermal-powered plants in particular were installed: Calderas (5MW) in 1998, and Zunil (24MW) in 1999. 

Guatemala has many natural reserves of both oil and gas, yet both are under-utilized. There exist approximately 153 oil wells, however only 58 are currently utilized for oil production.

The country enjoys a wealth of renewable resources, though they are not yet utilized to their full potential. For example; out of possible 5000MW hydroelectric power potential, Guatemala uses only 853 MW (17.06%), and of 1000MW potential of geothermal energy, the country uses just 49.2MW (4.92%). 

Table.2: Guatemalan Evolution of the Energy Matrix 1971-2008

	1971-1974			1984-1987			1999-2002				2005-2008
Fuel	Oil Products	Hydro	Bio-Combustibles	Liquid Fuels	Hydro	Bio-Combustibles	Coal	Oil Products	Hydro	Bio-Combustibles	Coal	Oil Products	Hydro	Bio-Combustibles
Input Percentage	80%	11%	9%	54%	30%	16%	10%	49%	14%	27%	22%	48%	25%	38%
General Outlines	Beginning of the 1970s, Guatemala had a very simple energy matrix - completely composed to meet residential consumption needs Two major energy sources: firewood for residential consumption & imported crude oil that was refined in the country			Guatemalan energy matrix experienced important changes 1974-1984 Beginning of national crude oil production during early 80s -> Reduction of net imported petroleum products Beginning of crude oil exploration Growth of hydraulic infrastructure The dominance of firewood consumption for the residential sector continued, specially in rural areas			At the beginning of the new millennium, the country achieved the most dramatic change in its energy matrix Guatemala became both producer and exporter of crude oil Consumption of biofuels increased Consumption of hydraulic energy doubled Oil derivatives' imports were quadrupled The conutry started importing coal				Near the end of the first decade of the 2000s, the country reduced its production of crude oil  Start of importing more oil derivatives Consumption of hydraulic energy almost doubled Coal imports quadrupled Biofuels held their position as the most dominant source

 

Energy Access

Guatemalan Total Electricity Access 1990-2016 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Guatemalan Electricity Access in Urban and Rural Areas 1990-2016 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Table.3: Guatemalan Total, Urban & Rural Access to Electricity 2000-2016

	Total Access				Urban	Rural
Year	2000	2010	2014	2016	2016	2016
% Population	73	84	85	92	97	86

Access to Clean Cooking in Guatemala 2000-2016 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Table.4: Clean Cooking Access Percentages in Guatemala 2000-2016

Year	2000	2010	2014	2016
% Population	39	43	45	45

Production

Guatemalan total energy production reached approximately 9.6Mtoe by the year 2016.

Total Primary Energy Supply 1990-2016 from Different Energy Sources (IEA, 2018)

Installed Capcity

The total installled power capacity of the country is about 4.21GW with renewables representing approximately 32% share.

Guatemalan Installed Capacity of Different Energy Sources (ClimateScope, 2018)

For more details on the graph Click Here. 

Consumption

Guatemala's Final Energy Consumption from Different Energy Sources 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Guatemalan Sectorial Shares of Final Energy Consumption (IEA, 2018)

Import and Export

Guatemala's Net Energy Imports 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

The most recent Guatemalan imports were led by refined petroleum (~10.8%) of the total imports, while petroleum gas represented approximately 1.4%, and coal briquettes about 0.92%.

Table.5: Guatemala's Major Energy Exports

Source	Electricity	Crude Oil	Refined Petroleum Products
Exporting Capacity	1.858 billion kWh	7,783 bbl/day	8,178 bbl/day

Electricity

Table.6: Guatemala's General Electricity Data in 2017

Indicator	Production	Consumption	Exports	Imports	Total Installed Capacity
Capacity	11.49 billion kWh	10.02 billion kWh	1.858 billion kWh	891.4 million kWh	4.072 million kW
World Ranking	98	95	48	70	86

Table.7: Guatemala's Electricity's Installed Capacity by Source

Source	Fossil Fuels	Nuclear Fuels	Hydroelectric Plants	Renewables
% of Total Installed Capacity	57.9	0	35.3	6.8
World Ranking	135	104	61	82

Guatemala's Total Electricity Consumtion 1990-2016 (EIA, 2018)

Guatemalan Electricity Generation by Different Fuels 1990-2016 (EIA, 2018)

Shares of Different Fuels in Generating Electricity in Guatemala in 2016 (EIA, 2018)

Energy Security

Since Guatemala is a developing country, that is emerging from a civil war which lasted for 36 years, with more than 50% of its population living in poverty, the country faces several social and economic challenges. These challenges cannot be overcome without the improvement of electricity access for supporting basic services and boosting up labor productivity. In that regard, the Ministry of Energy has proposed an expansion of the electricity generating capacity 2014-2028 to meet the increasing energy demand, while reducing dependency on fossil fuels (e.g. oil products), diversifying the energy mix from fossil fuels to renewables, and reducing electricity costs.

On one hand, attempting cost optimization in the energy sector could provide opportunities to improve social capital. On the other hand, increasing energy intensity could make societies highly vulnerable to any supply disruption, which demands better strategies for enhancing security of electricity supply. Within that context, energy security is to be defined with accordance to to the electricity supply, taking into account needs and objectives of the country's energy policy. The key aspects of the energy security perspective in Guatemala are: adequacy, resilience and sovereignty.

To achieve energy security in the Guatemalan case, few elements should be considered:

1. Securing major national energy services from disruptions.
2. In order to properly conceptualize enegy security, it is of an utmost importance to identify threats and vulnerabilities of the energy sysem of the country.
3. Limiting dependency on fuel imports.
4. Policy makers should prioritize securing where from the country imports its fuels, as if the imports are not from close and trusted countries, the supply system will always be vulnerable.
5. To improve the country's poverty situation, energy prices should not be very high.
   
6. Affordability in that context is correlated with prices of energy that are influenced by changes within the energy systems, such as: higher fuel prices due to scarcity or higher demand, not with relation to GDP or income per capita.
   

With all these factors in consideration, energy security in the case of Guatemala can be defined as follows: "Ensuring the availability of reliable and affordable energy services that are equitably shared, through decreasing dependence on imports, increasing diversity in the system, and increasing reliance on indigenous resources that are environmentally clean to support a sustainable economy able to meet current and future energy demand." 
Consequently, this definition reflects both the objects and concerns which are expressed in the Guatemalan energy policy. 

Challenges:

• Volatility of energy carriers' prices.
• Demand growth.
• Low electrification rates in rural areas.

Opportunities:

• Availability of natural resources.
• The possibilities of utilizing these resouces to achieve self-sufficiency and sustainability in the electrcity sector.

Renewable Energy

Guatemala aims to achieve 60% of its total electricity generation from renewables by 2020, while on the long term 80% of the total electricity generation.

Guatemalan Renewable Energy Share in the Country's Total Energy Consumption 1990-2015 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Guatemalan Renewable Energy Share with Accordance to End Use in 2015 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Guatemalan Renewable Energy Consumption by Source in 2015 (Tracking SDG7, 2018)

Table.8: Guatemala's Total Renewable Energy Capacity 2008-2017

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Capacity (MW)	1182	1206	1311	1341	1515	1646	1775	2178	2667	2753

Guatemala's Renewables-Generated Electricity by Source 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Share of Renewable Sources in Guatemalan Electricity Generation (IEA, 2018)

Hydropower

According to the International Hydropower Association (IHA)'s 2017 report on global hydropower status, Guatemala ranks 20th worldwide in the new hydropower installed during 2016 with 163MW capacity added that year. Also the country ranks 6th in the Northern and Central America region with total installed power approximately 1154MW.

Guatemalan Hydro-Generated Electricity 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

The country has potential for environmentally-friendly hydropower on different scales: household-scale turbines (100s of Watts), community-scale systems (10s of KWatts) and grid-connected-scale (MWs). 

Table.9: Guatemala's Hydropower Capacity 2008-2016

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Capacity (MW)	776	668	885	902	986	997	1001	1087	1392	1438

A micro-hydro project of 165 kW, which is located 300km northwest of Guatemala city, was constructed to serve approximately 2500 individuals of Chel, Xesayi and Las Flores. The project was community-built, with each family contributing 80 days of labor between 2003-2007 in exchange for a connection to the system. The power generated of this project was able to turn Chel into a regional hub, consequently pushing small businesses to flourish, such as: butchers, ice factories, blacksmiths and a library.

Local Workers Carrying Construction Materials for the Micro-Hydroelectric Plant in Chel, Guatemala

Wind 

Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) used to estimate wind energy potential in the country as high as 7000MW, while much more conservative opinions consider the economically viable wind potential in the country is somewhere between 400-700MW. 

Guatemalan Wind-Generated Electricity 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Table.10: Guatemala's Wind Energy Capacity 2008-2017

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Capacity (MW)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	76	76	76

Solar

According to the solar maps of Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA), Guatemala's average solar irradiaion is 5.3kWh/m²/day.

Guatemala's Solar Irradiation Map (Koberle. 2012)

Few small photovoltaic projects have been implemented in several Guatemalan remote areas, which have no access to grid electricity. Back in 2004, USAID has partnered with Fundación Solar and other local NGOs in order to launch 180 photovoltaic projects in six rural communities in the northern Quiche region of Guatemala for: households, both commerical and community use.

Guatemalan PV Solar-Generated Electricity 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Table.11: Guatemala's Total Solar Capacity 2008-2017

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Capacity (MW)	0	0	1	1	2	3	10	93	93	99

Bioenergy

Guatemala has a powerful agro-industrial sector with considerable biomass waste products, hence there is a large potential for generating electricity from agricultural biomass in the country. Guatemalan sugar mills already use their produced waste of biomass to generate electricity in the country.

During the country's harvest season, which is from November-May, these mills have the ability to generate about 25% of Guatemala's electricity. Thus by burning sugarcane bagasse along with other residues.

Biogas-Generated Electricity in Guatemala 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Table.12: Guatemala's Total Bioenergy Capacity 2008-2017

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Capacity (MW)	351	373	372	384	473	598	714	873	1056	1091

For firewood, though it is widely used in the country, its energy is inefficiently exploited across rural areas. This is because an estimation of approximately 81% of the households, which use this form of energy, are found to use it in a type of stoves called "three stones stoves", which wastes about 90% of the produced energy. 

Geothermal

During the 70s, several international agencies (JICA, IDB, OPEC, ROCAP/USAID, IAEA & OLADE) cooperated with INDE for identifying Guatemala's geothermal resources. In conclusion, it was found that the country has more than 12 geothermal important resrevoirs.

Approximate estimates show that the country has a geothermal potential power in the range 400-4000MW, and some literature assume it is 800-4000MW. Yet, Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines claims that the economically viable potential does not exceed 1000MW.

Guatemala's Potential Geothermal Sites (Koberle. 2012)

The interest to invest in Guatemala's geothermal potential is on the rise, with 2 geothermal plants are currently operating in the country -and they represent its main geothermal operating resources-: Zunil (24MW capacity) & Ortitlán (25MW capacity).

Table.13: Guatemala's Total Geothermal Capacity 2008-2017

Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Capacity (MW)	54	54	54	54	54	49	49	49	49	49

The main barriers for developing geothermal resources in Guatemala:

1. Economic constraints.
2. High risk in early stages (exploratory stages).
   
3. Competition with the possibility of developing cheaper energy sources, such as: hydropower & natural gas.

The Guatemalan government has a plan of using geothermal power to supply for two thirds of the country’s energy needs by 2022. Thus reducing oil imports and stabilizing the country’s energy supply.

Fossil Fuels

Crude Oil & Refined Petroleum Products

Table.14: 2017 Crude Oil's General Indicators in Guatemala

Indicator	Production	Exports	Imports	Proved Reserves
Capacity	9641 bbl/day	7873 bbl/day	0	83.07 million bbl
World Ranking	80	60	135	76

Crude oil production in Guatemala has high potential, with estimations suggesting the possibility of reaching 50000 barrels/day. Main Guatemalan products in that regard are: 'heavy crude oil' with API gravities 10-22.3 & 'bitter' with Sulphur percentages > 1%.

Guatemala's Crude Oil & Other Petroleum Products' Production 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Guatemala's Final Consumption of Crude Oil & Different Petroleum Products 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Guatemala's Different Sectorial Shares of the Final Consumption of Oil Products (IEA, 2018)

By the year 2013, Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mining has reported that the country's total production of oil was approximately 4 million barrels, with an average of 9986 barrels/day. Though, the evolution of hydrocarbons in Guatemala still have a high potential, as several studies -conducted by different institutions- have shown that Guatemala has oil reserves with the capacity of 83 million barrels. Furthermore, some indicators have shown that the country's capacity of oil reserves could be yet up to 750 million barrels.

Guatemala's Crude Oil Exports 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Table.15: 2017's Refined Petroleum Products' Indicators in Guatemala

Indicator	Production	Consumption	Exports	Imports
Capacity	1670 bbl/day	94770 bbl/day	8178 bbl/day	102600 bbl/day
World Rank	105	83	86	56

Coal

Guatemala's Coal Imports 1990-2016 (IEA, 2018)

Key Problems of the Energy Sector

A central challenge for the whole region is assuring an environmentally-friendly and sustainable provision of the energy system, along with meeting both the social and economic objectives of each country.

Read here how energy security is linked to the dimensions of sustainability.

Table.16: Key Concerns of the Energy Sector in the Light of Energy Security & Sustainable Development Dimensions

	Energy Security Dimensions			Sustainable Development Dimensions
Concerns Regard:	Adequacy	Resilience	Sovereignty	Economic	Social	Environmental
Electricity Generation	Power shortages, which could interrupt the supply	System's ability/disability to switch to different source upon disruption	Dependency on imported fuels	Inadequate electricity supply	Lacking equity in electricity access	Emissions of CO2, CO, SOX, NOX Ecosystems disturbances
Energy Sources:
Fossil Fuels (Oil, Coal & Natural Gas)	Availability of supply	Limited diversity of suppliers	Dependency on imports	Increase in prices, consequently limiting the user's ability to pay	Negative health impacts on population	Emissions of CO2, CO, SOX, NOX
Hydropower	Availability of seasonal water Storage capacity	Hydro dams diversity & distribution	--	--	Possible relocations of communities	The effect of downstream on ecosystems Methane emissions in large dams
Geothermal Power	--	Limited amount of geothermal power plants	--	--	--	CO2 emissions Chemical pollution
Biomass from Sugar-Cane Residues	Variability Seasonal availability	Limited diversity of resources	--	--	--	Emissions of SO2, NOx
Wind Power	Intermittency Availability	Limited amount of wind farms	--	--	Possibility of conflicts over land use	Disturbance of ecosystems

Further Information

• Tracking SDG7 in Guatemala 2018
• Guatemala's Energy Access from the World Bank Data
• Guatemala's Total Imports & Exports
• Energy Security and Sustainable Development Implications for Guatemala of the Electricity Generation Expansion Plan 2014-2028