In 2025, about two-thirds of El Salvador’s electricity consumption came from low-carbon sources, while almost a third came from fossil fuels. Hydropower supplied about 25%, geothermal and solar each contributed roughly 17%, biofuels provided 6%, and wind supplied 2%. On the fossil side, gas accounted for about 26% of electricity consumption, with other fossil sources contributing the remaining 7%. This substantial clean-electricity share provides a strong foundation for further growth and for reducing the climate and air-pollution impacts of fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in El Salvador?

Electricity consumption per person is growing in El Salvador: it reached a new record of 1,363 kWh in 2025, up from 1,315 kWh in 2024—an increase of roughly 50 kWh, or about 4%. Low-carbon electricity generation also reached a record, rising from 891 to 921 kWh per person, an increase of 30 kWh, or about 3%. Both developments are encouraging, although total consumption grew slightly faster than clean generation. Accelerating low-carbon electricity growth would help meet future demand from electrification and AI while strengthening the clean share of the electricity supply.

Suggestions

El Salvador should expand solar generation, which already supplies a substantial share of its electricity. The US states of Nevada and California demonstrate its potential, generating about 35% and 31% of their electricity from solar, respectively. For regional wind examples, El Salvador can learn from Costa Rica, where wind supplies about 13%, and Uruguay, where it provides about a third. Nuclear should also be considered as a source of dependable low-carbon electricity: France generates about two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, while smaller regions such as Slovenia and Armenia generate about 40% and 29%, respectively. Learning from these places could help El Salvador develop a broader clean-electricity strategy combining expanded solar, suitable wind projects, and consideration of nuclear generation.

History

Historically, El Salvador’s low-carbon electricity generation has seen repeated hydropower gains and setbacks. From the late 1970s through the 1980s, annual hydro increases of 0.3–0.4 TWh were interrupted by a 0.4 TWh decline in 1981. The 1990s and 2000s remained uneven, with gains in 1996, 2003, and 2008 alongside declines reaching 0.6 TWh in 2000. During the 2010s, hydro rose by 0.6 TWh in 2010, fell by 0.4 TWh in 2015, and recovered by 0.4 TWh in 2017. More recently, 2020 brought encouraging increases of 0.5 TWh in hydro and 0.4 TWh in solar. Hydro added another 0.4 TWh in 2022, while biofuel generation fell by 0.3 TWh; a disappointing 0.6 TWh hydro decline in 2023 was then matched by a 0.6 TWh rebound in 2024. These fluctuations underline the value of sustained growth across a diverse low-carbon electricity mix.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade