Israel's SDE Wave Power Plants company and El Salvador's El Esplendor Development Corporation have joined forces to develop wave energy projects in El Salvador and California.
SDE's technology uses sea wave motion to generate hydraulic pressure, which is then transformed into electricity. "The system takes advantage of the wave's speed, height, depth, rise and fall, and the flow beneath the approaching wave, thus producing energy," the firm says.
SDE says it currently holds letters of intent and orders from state leaders and electric companies for around $3 billion dollars of projects. Under the terms of its new alliance, SDE will first transfer the knowhow, knowledge and technology in Israel to El Esplendor, a company created by entrepreneur Raul Cornejo Giolitti to serve as a vehicle for the Salvadoran diaspora to invest in technology ventures in Central America and California.
SDE will then map specific places along the Salvadoran and Californian coastlines to build wave power plants. This initial stage includes design and construction of two wave power plants in El Salvador. The first is a 1MW power plant to supply energy to a high-end surfers' resort in development, located next to Punta Mango. This will be followed by the development of a 10MW commercial plant to supply energy to El Salvador's tourist town of 'La Libertad.'
PROESA, the Government Investment Promotion Agency of El Salvador, is actively facilitating this Israeli-Salvadoran initiative amongst government-related institutions like the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (CEL), Inversiones Energeticas, and programmes fostering joint ventures between government and the private sector.
