Wind plant in Honduras commences construction

Globeleq’s vision of bringing renewable energy to Honduras moved closer to reality yesterday when hundreds of people gathered to mark the construction of the Cerro de Hula (CdH) wind energy plant at a groundbreaking ceremony held in the municipality of Santa Ana. 

Globeleq’s majority owned subsidiary, Energias Renovables de Mesoamerica S.A. (known as Mesoamerica Energy) the owner, operator and leading developer of wind projects in Central America has been developing the 102 MW CdH wind energy project through its locally owned entity, Energía Eólicas de Honduras, S.A. (EEHSA).  The project is expected to generate approximately 6 percent of the country’s power supply.

Reinforcing the significance of the project to the country, the ceremony was attended by the President of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, many high level politicians, international and local industry leaders and hundreds of members of the local communities living near the planned wind plant route.

During his speech at the ceremony, Globeleq’s CEO, Mikael Karlsson emphasized the importance of the project to the country.  He commented:  “The start of construction of the CdH project is a significant milestone in Honduras’ energy future.  Supplying sustainable and affordable power provides the country with an opportunity to lower greenhouse gas emissions.  Globeleq is fully committed to the project’s successful implementation and with the increasing demand for renewable energy, we would like to expand the project and focus on clean and cost-effective new sources of energy across the region.” 

After the ceremony, Jay Gallegos, Mesoamerica Energy’s Managing Director remarked:  “This project has already made a substantial investment in the local area through its unique land acquisition/leasing program; procurement of local materials and services as well as providing many job opportunities.  Our dedicated team has worked hard to bring the project to construction and we continue to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure commercial operation is achieved as planned.”

Cerro de Hula will be the first wind plant in Honduras and the largest wind plant in the Central American region.  The wind plant will consist of 51 x 2 MW Gamesa G87 wind turbines and will supply the national utility company, Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica under a 100 MW, 20-year power purchase agreement.  The facility will be constructed by the Gamesa Wind US LLC and Iberdrola Ingeniería y Construcción Mexico consortium.  Commercial operation is anticipated in early 2012.  Non-recourse project financing is provided by the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.

Located 24 km south of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in the municipalities of Santa Ana and San Buenaventura, the greater project area is spread over approximately 6,500 hectares.