According to project documents, the Manzanillo Bay Energy Project includes the design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of:
- Two gas combined-cycle power plants with a net installed capacity of 430 megawatt each, totaling 860 megawatt.
- Electricity transmission infrastructure to allow the power plants to inject power into the national grid.
- Related infrastructure needed to receive natural gas from a floating storage and regasification unit, all located near the Manzanillo port in the Dominican Republic.
Associated facilities include the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit, intended to supply natural gas to the two Manzanillo Bay Energy plants, as well as to other national power plants, industry, and the country's broader gas network. The project uses a seawater-based wet cooling system.
According to official documentation, the original design of the project was modified due to the infrastructure risks posed by placing project facilities near a tectonic fault. Because additional analyses and design would extend the project’s original timeline, the proponents opted to proceed with a floating facility to meet the project’s schedule. The consortium developing the project — Manzanillo Gas & Power S.A. — is composed of Shell, Haina Investments Company, and Enerla.
By supporting the Manzanillo Gas and Power project, the IDB is contributing to an expansion of infrastructure that will increase greenhouse gas emissions and lock the Dominican Republic into gas infrastructure for decades. The project’s financial and climate additionality remains unclear, given that it channels public finance toward one of the world’s largest oil conglomerates and further distances the IDB from its own climate commitments. It also downplays significant environmental and social risks, including potential impacts on communities and ecosystems in neighboring Haiti.
Categorization:
The project has been classified as a Category A operation according to IDB Invest's Environmental and Social Sustainability Policy since it will likely generate the following impacts: i) air emissions, including greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions; ii) noise and vibrations, especially during construction; iii) wastewater discharge; iv) potential soil contamination; v) loss of habitat for terrestrial flora and fauna; v) impacts to marine biota (increased turbidity, noise, vibrations, and artificial lights); vi) landscape modification; vii) economic displacement (for local beekeepers and goatherders); viii) social impacts (increased traffic and demand for basic services); ix) local employment opportunities and economic development (positive); and x) improved capacity and reliability of the national electricity grid (positive). Overall, these impacts are deemed to be of medium-to-high intensity.