| Central and South America
Country ranking across Central and South America by total installed hydropower capacity in 2020
Rank Country
1 2
Brazil Venezuela
3 Mexico 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Colombia Argentina Paraguay Chile Peru
Ecuador
Costa Rica Panama
Guatemala Uruguay Honduras Bolivia
El Salvador Suriname
18 French Guiana 19
Guyana
Installed Capacity (MW including pumped storage)
109,271 15,393 12,612 11,941 11,340 8810 6944 5396 5076 2331 1786 1559 1538 837 735 575 190 119 3
2021 given the necessity to produce more expensive electricity from thermal power plants,” the IHA states, adding that the government is also authorising electricity imports from Uruguay and Argentina. In Central America, Costa Rica reached its goal of 100% renewable electricity production in 2020, with hydropower accounting for 72% of this. Indeed, despite the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in a drop in electricity demand, hydropower generation increased by about 6% compared with 2019, the IHA states. El Salvador remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels,
but hydropower represents the country’s largest share of renewables. The government flagship hydropower project, the 65.7MW 3 de Febrero, is expected to come online in 2021 to help decarbonise the country’s electricity system. Over in Honduras, the Inter-American Development Bank approved a US$18million loan to support modernisation of the 300MW Francisco Morazan hydropower plant – the largest in the country. Across Central and South America in 2020, Brazil was the leading country for added hydropower capacity at 213MW. This was followed by Chile with 205MW, Honduras and 108MW, Argentina at 30MW, Colombia and 24MW, and finally Peru with 2.35MW. ●
Above: The 300MW Francisco Morazan hydropower plant (also know as El Cajon) is being refurbished in Honduras
Information All information provided by IHA Hydropower Status Report 2021
https://www.hydropower.org/ publications/2021-hydropower-status-report
Below: Brazil continues to have the highest installed hydropower capacity across the region. Pictured is the 11.2GW Belo Monte Dam. Copyright: PAC-Ministry of Planning, Brazil
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