Nicaragua Water Supply and Sewerage Company Commissions 22 MW Photovoltaic Plant

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 10, the Nicaragua Water Supply and Sewerage Company (ENACAL) completed and commissioned the 22 MW photovoltaic plant ENESOLAR 2 in the Malpaisillo area of La Reynaga, León Department. The plant is the second facility to enter operation among the three water supply-supporting photovoltaic plants planned for construction by the Nicaraguan government. It is equipped with approximately 33,000 photovoltaic modules and represents a construction investment of approximately US$15 million. After its electricity is fed into the national grid, it is used to offset and support the pumping electricity consumption of the national water supply and sewerage systems.

ENESOLAR 2 was organized for construction by the Nicaraguan government through ENACAL and received financial support from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE). The project has completed main construction and equipment installation and is capable of delivering up to 22 MW of electricity to the national grid. Project construction materials previously published by ENACAL show that the plant's designed grid-connected capacity is 22.3 MW. The construction investment initially disclosed for the project was US$15 million.

The plant's electricity is not delivered directly to individual pumping stations through independent lines; rather, it is connected to Nicaragua's national grid. ENACAL has established corresponding electricity settlement arrangements with the national transmission company ENATREL, under which photovoltaic generation is offset against the electricity consumption of the water supply pumping systems, and electricity exceeding the company's own consumption needs is sold to the grid. This model enables the photovoltaic plant to serve simultaneously as a self-use power source for the water utility and as a component of the electricity supply system.

Among the three photovoltaic plants, the first, ENESOLAR 1, is located in San Isidro, Matagalpa Department, and was commissioned in June 2026. It has an installed capacity of approximately 61.425 MWp and is equipped with 100,100 photovoltaic modules, 187 inverters, 75 MVA transformers, and a 12 MW battery energy storage system, with a project investment of approximately US$92 million. The project was constructed by China Communications Construction Company.

The third, ENESOLAR 3, is located in Nindirí, Masaya Department, with an initial design capacity of 70 MW and plans to install approximately 111,000 photovoltaic modules, 214 inverters, and two 45 MVA transformers. According to the construction progress published on October 21, 2026, the project has reached 82% completion and is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2027. ENACAL has also reached an expansion arrangement with China Communications Construction Company to increase the plant's capacity to 88 MW, but the related expansion works have yet to be implemented. The project's initial investment budget was approximately US$83 million, and Nicaragua signed a US$70.55 million financing agreement with China Communications Construction Company in October 2024.

The combined budget of the three plants is approximately US$190 million. ENACAL Executive President Erwin Barreda stated that once all three plants are in operation, their generation is expected to be equivalent to 80% to 85% of the company's current total electricity consumption. ENACAL currently provides water supply and sewerage services to approximately 850,000 households nationwide, and its pumping systems are its main electricity consumption segment.