In 2016, electricity generated by photovoltaic plants accounted for 10.2 per cent of Honduras's energy mix. Honduras thus becomes the first nation in the world, excluding island states, to use such a high share of solar energy.

Honduras bets on solar

Honduras's electricity system is managed by Enee, a public company that serves practically the entire country. Last year, the energy utility announced, its plants generated a total of 8,673 gigawatt-hours of electricity. Of these, 885 were produced by photovoltaic plants and, more broadly, renewable sources accounted for 52 per cent of all electrical power. Honduras is also the second country in Central America by installed solar capacity: it can count on as many as 433 megawatts of solar on its territory, pipped only by Chile, which managed to install one additional gigawatt of photovoltaics.

The growth of photovoltaics

In 2015, Honduras already had 388 megawatts of solar capacity, to which a further 45 megawatts were added last year. To encourage the development of photovoltaics, in 2013 the government launched a solar energy development programme providing for the payment of incentives. In 2015 many plants came into operation thanks to this programme. However, according to Pv Magazine, despite the positive aspects of the measure there were some problems with incentive payments to investors, which have not yet been entirely resolved.

The largest photovoltaic plant in Latin America

In recent years, Honduras has shown great interest in renewables, completing large photovoltaic projects. One of these was the construction of a 100-megawatt solar park in Nacaome, in the southern part of the country, 130 kilometres south of the capital Tegucigalpa. The project, which cost 232 million US dollars and was financed in part by the World Bank, among others, employed around 2,500 people directly and indirectly during the construction phase. The new photovoltaic plant, inaugurated in May 2015, has an average output of 257 gigawatt-hours per year spread across two identical installations and accounts for 7.1 per cent of all electricity generated in the country. The solar park today provides permanent employment to 150 workers and, at peak capacity, will supply electricity to 45,000 Honduran homes.

The government's contradictions

According to the report by the NGO Global Witness, published at the end of January, Honduras is the most dangerous country in the world for those who fight to protect the environment. Since 2010, more than 120 activists — mostly indigenous — who were fighting against multinationals to protect the environment by opposing the construction of hydroelectric plants and coal mines have been killed.

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