Orzunil I de Electricidad Limitada

MIGA issued $1.6 million in coverage to Ormat for its investment in a 24-megawatt geothermal power plant in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Ormat will build, own, and operate the project enterprise, Orzunil I de Electricidad, Limitada. MIGA previously issued $5.6 million in coverage to Ormat for this project in fiscal 1997. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is also providing loan financing to this project. MIGA coverage is issued against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance.

The power output will be sold to Guatemala's national electric company, Instituto Nacional de Electrificación, which is responsible for the country's power transmission and generation. This new environmentally-sustainable power source will increase the existing limited power-generating capacity of the region and supplement the current thermal plants that are dependent on imported fuel sources. It will develop a renewable energy resource to support higher living standards and new businesses in Guatemala. The project will promote private participation in power generation and will assist the reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the El Niño crisis.