Dutch independent power producer (IPP) MPC Energy Solutions has started testing and commissioning its 66.1MW San Patricio solar PV project in Guatemala.
The IPP announced that the project had secured its final permit, at which it started construction in February 2024, and now expects to spend two weeks completing testing and commissioning work.
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MPC expects to receive a commercial operation date certificate for the projects within the next few weeks and begin commercial operations in the third quarter of this year, slightly later than the company’s initial planned Q2 start date.
MPC noted that it had contributed an additional US$1.5 million to the project to cover the additional costs associated with starting commercial operations later than expected, including debt service payments, on-site staff costs and operational expenses. The IPP expects to cover “nearly the entire amount of this additional funding” from the eventual sale of the project, alongside the sale of the Santa Rosa and Villa So projects in El Salvador, which have a combined capacity of 87.4MW.
This plan was outlined in its financial reporting for the first quarter of the year, and the sale of the San Patricio project would represent an immediate exiting of the Guatemalan solar sector for MPC, as it is the company’s first project in the country. MPC also said that it plans to raise money by selling electricity generated during the testing phase until the start of commercial operations through the spot market.
The start of commercial operations at San Patricio would be a significant development for the Guatemalan solar sector, which has around 200MW of capacity currently in operation. The project’s capacity is also in line with the largest solar PV project to be operational in the country, the 73.7MW Yolanda project, which is owned by Spanish firm Ecoener and started commercial operations in 2024.

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