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Asset Impairment Expense
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Impairment or Disposal of Tangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]  
ASSET IMPAIRMENT EXPENSE ASSET IMPAIRMENT EXPENSE
Year ended December 31, (in millions)202020192018
AES Gener$781 $— $— 
Hawaii38 60 — 
Estrella del Mar I30 — — 
Kilroot and Ballylumford— 115 — 
Shady Point— — 157 
Nejapa— — 37 
Other15 10 14 
Total$864 $185 $208 
AES Gener — In August 2020, AES Gener reached an agreement with Minera Escondida and Minera Spence to early terminate two PPAs of the Angamos coal-fired plant in Chile, further accelerating AES Gener’s decarbonization strategy. AES Gener also announced its intention to accelerate the retirement of the Ventanas 1 and Ventanas 2 coal-fired plants. Management will no longer be pursuing a contracting strategy for these assets and the plants will primarily be utilized as peaker plants and for grid stability. Due to these developments, the Company performed an impairment analysis and determined that the carrying amounts of these asset groups were
not recoverable. As a result, the Company recognized asset impairment expense of $781 million. AES Gener is reported in the South America SBU reportable segment.
Hawaii — During the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company tested the recoverability of its long-lived coal-fired asset in Hawaii. Uncertainty around the ability to contract the asset upon expiration of its existing PPA resulted in management's decision to reassess the economic useful life of the generation facility. A decrease in the useful life was identified as an impairment indicator and the Company determined that the carrying amount was not recoverable. The asset group, consisting of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, was determined to have a fair value of $103 million using the income approach. As a result, the Company recognized asset impairment expense of $60 million as of December 31, 2019.
In July 2020, the Hawaii State Legislature passed Senate Bill 2629 which will prohibit AES Hawaii from generating electricity from coal after December 31, 2022. Therefore, management further reassessed the economic useful life of the generation facility and a decrease in the useful life was identified as an impairment indicator. The Company performed an impairment analysis and determined that the carrying amount of the asset group was not recoverable. As a result, the Company recognized additional asset impairment expense of $38 million during the third quarter of 2020. Hawaii is reported in the US and Utilities SBU reportable segment.
Estrella del Mar I — In August 2020, the Estrella del Mar I power barge was disconnected from the Panama grid and AES Panama is currently evaluating its options for the asset. Upon disconnection, the Company concluded that the barge was no longer part of the AES Panama asset group and performed an impairment analysis. The Company determined that the carrying amount of the asset was not recoverable and recognized asset impairment expense of $30 million. The asset met the held-for-sale criteria as of December 31, 2020. See Note 25—Held-for-Sale and Dispositions for further information. Estrella del Mar I is reported in the MCAC SBU reportable segment.
Kilroot and Ballylumford — In April 2019, the Company entered into an agreement to sell its entire 100% interest in the Kilroot coal and oil-fired plant and energy storage facility and the Ballylumford gas-fired plant in the United Kingdom. Upon meeting the held-for-sale criteria, the Company performed an impairment analysis and determined that the carrying value of the asset group of $232 million was greater than its fair value less costs to sell of $114 million. As a result, the Company recognized asset impairment expense of $115 million. The Company completed the sale of Kilroot and Ballylumford in June 2019. See Note 25—Held-for-Sale and Dispositions for further information. Prior to their sale, Kilroot and Ballylumford were reported in the Eurasia SBU reportable segment.
Shady Point — In December 2018, the Company entered into an agreement to sell Shady Point, a coal-fired generation facility in the U.S. Due first to the uncertainty around future cash flows, and then upon meeting the held-for-sale criteria, the Company performed an impairment analysis of the Shady Point asset group in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2018, resulting in the recognition of total asset impairment expense of $157 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. Using the market approach, the asset group was determined to have a fair value of $30 million as of December 31, 2018. The sale was completed in May 2019. See Note 25—Held-for-Sale and Dispositions for further information. Prior to the sale, Shady Point was reported in the US and Utilities SBU reportable segment.
Nejapa — During the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company tested the recoverability of its long-lived assets at Nejapa, a landfill gas plant in El Salvador. Decreased production as a result of the landfill owner's failure to perform improvements necessary to continue extracting gas from the landfill was identified as an impairment indicator. The Company determined that the carrying amount was not recoverable. The asset group, consisting of property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets, was determined to have a fair value of $5 million using the income approach. As a result, the Company recognized asset impairment expense of $37 million as of December 31, 2018. Nejapa is reported in the US and Utilities SBU reportable segment.