Biomass helps Guatemalan renewables reach 77% share in Nov

Sugar cane. Author: Jenny Mealing. License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic

December 9 (Renewables Now) - Renewables generated 76.73% of electricity for Guatemala in November, recording a jump from the 63.34% share held the previous month, according to the latest monthly report by the National Electric Energy Commission (CNEE).

Guatemala’s sugarcane harvest season, known as zafra, officially started in November, bringing back bagasse cogeneration into the power mix. The share of biomass reached 16.88% in the first month of the season.

Zafra 2019-2020 will go on for six months, Guatemala’s sugar producers told local media.

Hydro-power remained the leading source of renewable energy throughout November, despite its share declining compared to the previous month.

The share of other renewables increased, with wind power registering a surge to 4.24% from just 0.88% in October.

Guatemala’s power mix in November is summarised in the table below:

Source:	Share in November:	Share in October:
Hydro	51.86%	59.39%
Bagasse biomass	16.88%	0.00%
Wind	4.24%	0.88%
Solar	1.61%	1.30%
Geothermal	2.12%	1.74%
Coal	19.74%	33.74%