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| | + | {{CES Country |
| | + | |CES Country Name=Honduras |
| | + | |CES Country Capital=Tegucigalpa |
| | + | |CES Country Region Latin America =Latin America |
| | + | |CES Country Coordinates=14.1000° N, 87.2167° W |
| | + | }} |
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| − | {| cellspacing="1" cellpadding="5" border="0" align="right" style="width: 400px; font-size: 14px"
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| − | ! scope="col" colspan="4" style="width: 602px; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(79, 129, 189)" | <font color="#ffffff"><span style="line-height: 20px">Republic of Honduras</span></font>
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| − | | colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width: 250px; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | [[File:Honduras Flag.gif|center|180px|Flag of Honduras|alt=Flag of _____.png]]
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| − | | style="width: 250px; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | [[File:550px-Honduras (orthographic projection).svg.png|center|180px|Honduras Location|alt=Location _______.png]]
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Capital'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | Tegucigalpa<br/>(14° 6′ 0″ N, 87° 13′ 0″ W)
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Official Languages(s)'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" |
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| − | Spanish
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Government'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | Constitutional Republic
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''President'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Total Area ''''''<span style="line-height: 21px">( </span>km²<span style="line-height: 21px">)</span>'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | 112,492
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Population'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | 8,249,574 (2010 estimate)<br/>7,529,403 (2007 census)
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| − | |-
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Rural Population'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | <br/>
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''GDP (Nominal)'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | $15.288 billion
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''GDP Per Capita'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | $1,912
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Currency'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | Lempira (HNL)
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| − | |-
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Time Zone'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | CST (UTC-6)
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Calling Code'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | +504
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| − | |-
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Electricity Generation'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | <span data-scaytid="5" data-scayt_word="twh">TWh</span>/year (year)
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Access to Electricity'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | <br/>
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Wind energy (installed capacity)'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | MW (year)
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| − | |-
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| − | | colspan="3" style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | '''Solar Energy (installed capacity)'''
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| − | | style="width: 250px; background-color: rgb(219, 229, 241)" | MW (year)
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| − | |}
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| − | {| cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="0" align="left" style="width: 350px" class="FCK__ShowTableBorders"
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| − | |-
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| − | | __TOC__
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| − |
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| − | |}
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| − | <div style="clear: both"></div>
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| − | = Overview =
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| | | | |
| | = Energy Situation = | | = Energy Situation = |
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| | The installed capacity increased from 565 MW in 1994 to 1,605.79 MW (not firm) in 2009 while the demand increased from 453 MW to 1,203 MW in the same period<ref name="CEPAL">_</ref>. According to the National Expansion Plan 2007-2020 expected demand growth is 5.7% annually<ref name="PNUD">PNUD.2008. Prospectiva Energetica y Escenarios Posibles. PNUD. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 115 p</ref>. For this reason, the contracting of 250 MW from renewable sources generated by private companies, which at the moment has been discussed by the National Congress; as well as the planned interconnection of the six power grids of the Central American countries (Central American Electrical Interconnection System), could contribute to meet demand growth for the future. | | The installed capacity increased from 565 MW in 1994 to 1,605.79 MW (not firm) in 2009 while the demand increased from 453 MW to 1,203 MW in the same period<ref name="CEPAL">_</ref>. According to the National Expansion Plan 2007-2020 expected demand growth is 5.7% annually<ref name="PNUD">PNUD.2008. Prospectiva Energetica y Escenarios Posibles. PNUD. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 115 p</ref>. For this reason, the contracting of 250 MW from renewable sources generated by private companies, which at the moment has been discussed by the National Congress; as well as the planned interconnection of the six power grids of the Central American countries (Central American Electrical Interconnection System), could contribute to meet demand growth for the future. |
| | | | |
| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
| | + | |
| | + | == Energy demand and Supply in Household Sector == |
| | + | |
| | + | As mentioned before, the main energy source for the residential sector comes from firewood, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas. The main use of this firewood is cooking, and in some cases lighting and heating. |
| | + | |
| | + | It is estimated that a household, without access to electricity, uses approximately 525 kg of firewood per year.<ref name="FHIA">FHIA. 2009. Noticias de la FHIA:mejorando el ambiente de la familia rural y conservando los recursos naturales. Boletín 26. La Lima, Cortes. 5 p.</ref> Taking into consideration the total population without access to electricity in Honduras, that would means 11 million m3 per year.The calculated demand increased of firewood is 2.96% annually.<ref name="FHIA">_</ref> |
| | + | |
| | + | The main source of firewood in Honduras is the forest. Due to this, the extraction of firewood is considerate one of the causes of deforestation at the national level<ref name="ERP">Gobierno de la República de Honduras. 2001. Estrategia nacional de reducción de la pobreza.</ref> . Some studies indicate that between 1990 and 2005, Honduras lost 37.1% of its forest cover, or around 2,737,000 hectares . Despite this, 59% of its territory today remains covered by forests, but the estimated annual rate of deforestation of 62.000Ha/a.<ref name="Suazo, T">Suazo, T. 2010. Gestión Forestal y el Desarrollo Sostenible de Honduras. Presentación en el marco del "taller nacional bosques y cambio climatico: oportunidades del país para insertarse en el mecanismo REDD". Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 17 p.</ref> boasts a fast reduction of this resource in Honduras.<br/>The poverty of the population, the access to other energy sources, as well as the country’s rural population density, determines the usage of firewood as a main source of energy in Honduras. This could means that the usage of firewood, will not change in the short term, if the actual conditions of the energy sector in Honduras persist. |
| | + | |
| | + | Under these circumstances, to make the use of firewood more efficient becomes a necessity thus to contribute to the reduction of the current actual rate of deforestation. One example is the use of improved firewood stoves. With these approximately 70% of the firewood is reduced in comparison to the traditional stoves. In addition to the reduction of the firewood consumption, there are other advantages for use of these stoves such as: more efficient use of heat, reduces the smoke in the kitchen which in turn reduces respiratory diseases by the inhalation of smoke, and improves hygiene in the home.<ref name="FHIA">_</ref><br/>Recently a study carried out in two rural communities in Honduras assessed the carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter levels among non-smoking Hondurans women cooking with traditional or improved wood-burning stoves. As a result’ of this study women with the improved stoves had 63% lower personal particle matter concentrations, 73% lower indoor particle matter concentrations, and 90% lower indoor carbon monoxide levels as compared to women with traditional stoves.<ref name="Clark, Maggie">Clark, Maggie; et.al. 2010. Indoor air pollution, cook-stove quality, and housing characteristics in two Honduras communities. Environmental Research Journal. Vol 110:1. Elsevier. Page 12-18.</ref>Which causes respiratory diseases.<br/>Besides this, the study showed that it’s important to properly train the families as well as the local craftsmen(artisans) in stove maintenance and construction in order to decrease pollution emissions of these improved stoves in the future. This study concludes that designing kitchens with proper ventilation structures could lead to improved indoor environments, especially important in areas where biomass will continue to be the preferred and necessary cooking fuel for some time.<ref name="Clark, Maggie">_</ref> |
| | + | |
| | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
| | | | |
| | == Costs of Electricity == | | == Costs of Electricity == |
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| | Electricity is currently sold at an average price of 103 US$/MWh or 10.34 cents per KWh. The total cost including generation, transmission and distribution is calculated to be 127 US $/MWh or 12.75 cent per KWh. Due to the application of cross subsidies, specially applied to the residential sector, end users pay approximately 100 US $/MWh or 10 cents per KWh. In this sector it is estimated that only 80% of the feed is paid it by the end user<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref> . Additionally adjustments to the cost per KWh have been postponed during 2009 and part of 2010, even though they are necessary due to increases in the oil prices.<br/>Currently ENEE in its expansion plan has identified 41 projects to enlarge energy transmission and distribution, but only 27% are being funded. Mostly these funds comes by private and national funds and as well as loans<ref name="ENEE 2009">ENEE. 2009. Empresa Nacional de Energía Electrica: situación actual y perspectivas.ENEE. Tegucigalpa, Honduras.58 p.</ref>.<br/> | | Electricity is currently sold at an average price of 103 US$/MWh or 10.34 cents per KWh. The total cost including generation, transmission and distribution is calculated to be 127 US $/MWh or 12.75 cent per KWh. Due to the application of cross subsidies, specially applied to the residential sector, end users pay approximately 100 US $/MWh or 10 cents per KWh. In this sector it is estimated that only 80% of the feed is paid it by the end user<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref> . Additionally adjustments to the cost per KWh have been postponed during 2009 and part of 2010, even though they are necessary due to increases in the oil prices.<br/>Currently ENEE in its expansion plan has identified 41 projects to enlarge energy transmission and distribution, but only 27% are being funded. Mostly these funds comes by private and national funds and as well as loans<ref name="ENEE 2009">ENEE. 2009. Empresa Nacional de Energía Electrica: situación actual y perspectivas.ENEE. Tegucigalpa, Honduras.58 p.</ref>.<br/> |
| | | | |
| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | == Rural Electrification == | | == Rural Electrification == |
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| | Otherwise in-grid electrification in the rural area is characterized by very old network working with secondary circuits which in some cases are too long and cause a large voltage drop and high losses<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>. For the time being efforts to increase the electricity coverage have been hindered due to an inexistent adequate rural electrification approach and policy which could contribute to articulate, the decentralization at a local level, the involvement of municipalities and the private sector, and the use of alternative energy local supplies.<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref> | | Otherwise in-grid electrification in the rural area is characterized by very old network working with secondary circuits which in some cases are too long and cause a large voltage drop and high losses<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>. For the time being efforts to increase the electricity coverage have been hindered due to an inexistent adequate rural electrification approach and policy which could contribute to articulate, the decentralization at a local level, the involvement of municipalities and the private sector, and the use of alternative energy local supplies.<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref> |
| | | | |
| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
| | | | |
| − | == Energy demand and Supply in Household Sector ==
| |
| − |
| |
| − | As mentioned before, the main energy source for the residential sector comes from firewood, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas. The main use of this firewood is cooking, and in some cases lighting and heating.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | It is estimated that a household, without access to electricity, uses approximately 525 kg of firewood per year.<ref name="FHIA">FHIA. 2009. Noticias de la FHIA:mejorando el ambiente de la familia rural y conservando los recursos naturales. Boletín 26. La Lima, Cortes. 5 p.</ref> Taking into consideration the total population without access to electricity in Honduras, that would means 11 million m3 per year.The calculated demand increased of firewood is 2.96% annually.<ref name="FHIA">_</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The main source of firewood in Honduras is the forest. Due to this, the extraction of firewood is considerate one of the causes of deforestation at the national level<ref name="ERP">Gobierno de la República de Honduras. 2001. Estrategia nacional de reducción de la pobreza.</ref> . Some studies indicate that between 1990 and 2005, Honduras lost 37.1% of its forest cover, or around 2,737,000 hectares . Despite this, 59% of its territory today remains covered by forests, but the estimated annual rate of deforestation of 62.000Ha/a.<ref name="Suazo, T">Suazo, T. 2010. Gestión Forestal y el Desarrollo Sostenible de Honduras. Presentación en el marco del "taller nacional bosques y cambio climatico: oportunidades del país para insertarse en el mecanismo REDD". Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 17 p.</ref> boasts a fast reduction of this resource in Honduras.<br/>The poverty of the population, the access to other energy sources, as well as the country’s rural population density, determines the usage of firewood as a main source of energy in Honduras. This could means that the usage of firewood, will not change in the short term, if the actual conditions of the energy sector in Honduras persist.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Under these circumstances, to make the use of firewood more efficient becomes a necessity thus to contribute to the reduction of the current actual rate of deforestation. One example is the use of improved firewood stoves. With these approximately 70% of the firewood is reduced in comparison to the traditional stoves. In addition to the reduction of the firewood consumption, there are other advantages for use of these stoves such as: more efficient use of heat, reduces the smoke in the kitchen which in turn reduces respiratory diseases by the inhalation of smoke, and improves hygiene in the home.<ref name="FHIA">_</ref><br/>Recently a study carried out in two rural communities in Honduras assessed the carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter levels among non-smoking Hondurans women cooking with traditional or improved wood-burning stoves. As a result’ of this study women with the improved stoves had 63% lower personal particle matter concentrations, 73% lower indoor particle matter concentrations, and 90% lower indoor carbon monoxide levels as compared to women with traditional stoves.<ref name="Clark, Maggie">Clark, Maggie; et.al. 2010. Indoor air pollution, cook-stove quality, and housing characteristics in two Honduras communities. Environmental Research Journal. Vol 110:1. Elsevier. Page 12-18.</ref>Which causes respiratory diseases.<br/>Besides this, the study showed that it’s important to properly train the families as well as the local craftsmen(artisans) in stove maintenance and construction in order to decrease pollution emissions of these improved stoves in the future. This study concludes that designing kitchens with proper ventilation structures could lead to improved indoor environments, especially important in areas where biomass will continue to be the preferred and necessary cooking fuel for some time.<ref name="Clark, Maggie">_</ref>
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| − |
| |
| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]]
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| | | | |
| | = Electricity Situation = | | = Electricity Situation = |
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| | ENEE (Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica) owns 4 thermal power plants with a total capacity of 28.9 GWh<ref name="ENEE">ENEE.2010. Estadísticas 2009: Energía disponible en el Sistema Interconectado Nacional-periodo 2008-2009. Sud-Dirección de Planificación, ENEE. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 1 p</ref>. Additionally, 7 hydropower plants with a total capacity of 2,539.6 GWh are owned an operated by ENEE<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>. The private sector has a total capacity of 3,992.4 GWh<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>(14 thermal power plants with 3,578.8 GWh, 13 private hydropower plants with 257 GWh and 8 biomass cogeneration plants with 156,2 GWh<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>. | | ENEE (Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica) owns 4 thermal power plants with a total capacity of 28.9 GWh<ref name="ENEE">ENEE.2010. Estadísticas 2009: Energía disponible en el Sistema Interconectado Nacional-periodo 2008-2009. Sud-Dirección de Planificación, ENEE. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 1 p</ref>. Additionally, 7 hydropower plants with a total capacity of 2,539.6 GWh are owned an operated by ENEE<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>. The private sector has a total capacity of 3,992.4 GWh<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>(14 thermal power plants with 3,578.8 GWh, 13 private hydropower plants with 257 GWh and 8 biomass cogeneration plants with 156,2 GWh<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>. |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | == Transmission == | | == Transmission == |
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| | ENEE is operating the national grid (SIN). | | ENEE is operating the national grid (SIN). |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | == Distribution == | | == Distribution == |
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| | Monopoly by ENEE with the exception of some isolated grids on the bay islands (Roatán Electric Company” RECO, “Utila Power Company” UPCO, “Bonaca Electric Company” BELCO) and in Puerto Lempira, department of Gracias a Dios (INELEM and ELESA). | | Monopoly by ENEE with the exception of some isolated grids on the bay islands (Roatán Electric Company” RECO, “Utila Power Company” UPCO, “Bonaca Electric Company” BELCO) and in Puerto Lempira, department of Gracias a Dios (INELEM and ELESA). |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
| | + | |
| | + | = Key Problems Hampering Access to Modern Energy Services in Rural Areas = |
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| − | = Key Problems Hampering Access to Modern Energy Services in Rural Areas<br/> =
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| | == Obstacles for Grid-based Rural Electrification == | | == Obstacles for Grid-based Rural Electrification == |
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| | *The subsidies fees promote an excessive use of electricity in households. With about 200 kWh/month, the consumption is almost twice as high as in El Salvador or Guatemala. The low price makes cooking and water heating with electricity cheaper than with LPG. | | *The subsidies fees promote an excessive use of electricity in households. With about 200 kWh/month, the consumption is almost twice as high as in El Salvador or Guatemala. The low price makes cooking and water heating with electricity cheaper than with LPG. |
| | | | |
| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
| | | | |
| | == Obstacles for Off-grid Energy Technologies and Services == | | == Obstacles for Off-grid Energy Technologies and Services == |
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| | *Lack of a marketing and maintenance structure for energy technology devices in rural areas. Almost all retailers are established in cities with no outlets are in the rural communities. Thus, clients have to travel to cities to purchase energy devices and for repair orders, which is difficult for most rural families. Establishing rural outlets are considered not to be profitable due to the high costs for transportation and mobilization, the dispersed nature of the populations and the low income and low demand of the local population. | | *Lack of a marketing and maintenance structure for energy technology devices in rural areas. Almost all retailers are established in cities with no outlets are in the rural communities. Thus, clients have to travel to cities to purchase energy devices and for repair orders, which is difficult for most rural families. Establishing rural outlets are considered not to be profitable due to the high costs for transportation and mobilization, the dispersed nature of the populations and the low income and low demand of the local population. |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
| | | | |
| − | = Institutional Set Up and Actors in the Energy Sector<br/> = | + | = Institutional Set Up and Actors in the Energy Sector = |
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| | Honduras power sector started a deep restructuring in 1994, as a consequence of a crisis. As a result, a new Electricity Law was elaborated which opened the possibility to generate, transmit and distribute energy, which was being managed exclusively by the state-owned Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica (ENEE). Another important step was to separate the roles of policy makers, the regulators and providers of electrical services. | | Honduras power sector started a deep restructuring in 1994, as a consequence of a crisis. As a result, a new Electricity Law was elaborated which opened the possibility to generate, transmit and distribute energy, which was being managed exclusively by the state-owned Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica (ENEE). Another important step was to separate the roles of policy makers, the regulators and providers of electrical services. |
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| | However, only the generation was opened to private producers while ENEE stills buys all electricity via long term power purchase contracts and manages the national transmission system (SIN) and the distribution. ENEE faces a deep financial crisis since the year 2000 and later in 2005 the discussion about finally unbundling ENEE has been taking place. Talks of increasing the generation capacity and the elaboration of a power sector strategy for the country has intensified. | | However, only the generation was opened to private producers while ENEE stills buys all electricity via long term power purchase contracts and manages the national transmission system (SIN) and the distribution. ENEE faces a deep financial crisis since the year 2000 and later in 2005 the discussion about finally unbundling ENEE has been taking place. Talks of increasing the generation capacity and the elaboration of a power sector strategy for the country has intensified. |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | == Public Institutions == | | == Public Institutions == |
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| | Even the Fondo Social de Desarrollo Eléctrico (FOSODE) which was founded in 1994 with the aim to increase the electrification rate is managed by the Oficina de Electrificación Social (OES) as a subsection of the ENEE. Consequently all grid connected activities are implemented by the ENEE while SERNA in cooperation with some international donors implementing off grid projects based on solar and hydroenergy.<br/>At the same time even the Ministries of Health and Agriculture, the Council on Science and Technology (Consejo Hondureño de Ciencia y Tecnología – COHCIT) (with the rank of a ministry as well) and the Honduran Social Investment Fund (Fondo Hondureno de Inversion Social-FHIS) have implemented some off grid renewable energy projects specially in rural areas parallel and/or without coordination.<br/> | | Even the Fondo Social de Desarrollo Eléctrico (FOSODE) which was founded in 1994 with the aim to increase the electrification rate is managed by the Oficina de Electrificación Social (OES) as a subsection of the ENEE. Consequently all grid connected activities are implemented by the ENEE while SERNA in cooperation with some international donors implementing off grid projects based on solar and hydroenergy.<br/>At the same time even the Ministries of Health and Agriculture, the Council on Science and Technology (Consejo Hondureño de Ciencia y Tecnología – COHCIT) (with the rank of a ministry as well) and the Honduran Social Investment Fund (Fondo Hondureno de Inversion Social-FHIS) have implemented some off grid renewable energy projects specially in rural areas parallel and/or without coordination.<br/> |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | == Non Governmental Service Providers for Rural Areas == | | == Non Governmental Service Providers for Rural Areas == |
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| | Energy is only a side topic for most Honduran NGOs. The umbrella of development organisations, the Federación de Organizaciones Privadas de Desarollo – FOPRIDEH with 73 members, is not focusing on rural energy supply.<br/>There are two Honduran NGOs, AHDESA and PROLEÑA which have expertise with to the introduction of improved stoves. They are both partners of the EnDEv-HO Project. The project involves several NGOs in the dissemination of stoves and SHS of which the most important is Hermandad de Honduras.<br/>As to rural electrification, almost no information exists about Honduran NGOs that implement their own projects. This reflects the strong monopoly of ENEE, which still is regarded by most Hondurans as the entity responsible for rural electrification.<br/>However, some very small scale activities have been carried out by the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA) in the field of micro hydro power, who, by the way is also a partner of EnDev Ho. | | Energy is only a side topic for most Honduran NGOs. The umbrella of development organisations, the Federación de Organizaciones Privadas de Desarollo – FOPRIDEH with 73 members, is not focusing on rural energy supply.<br/>There are two Honduran NGOs, AHDESA and PROLEÑA which have expertise with to the introduction of improved stoves. They are both partners of the EnDEv-HO Project. The project involves several NGOs in the dissemination of stoves and SHS of which the most important is Hermandad de Honduras.<br/>As to rural electrification, almost no information exists about Honduran NGOs that implement their own projects. This reflects the strong monopoly of ENEE, which still is regarded by most Hondurans as the entity responsible for rural electrification.<br/>However, some very small scale activities have been carried out by the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA) in the field of micro hydro power, who, by the way is also a partner of EnDev Ho. |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | === Commercial Service Provider === | | === Commercial Service Provider === |
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| | In the field of photo voltaic systems about 8 providers work in Honduras of which Solaris, Soluz, CADELGA and Soluciones Energeticas are the most important. The Solar companies in general have difficulties developing markets in rural areas. The different subsidy schemes of international donors make the commercial distribution even more difficult.<br/>Soluz has developed interesting activities in the field of cash and credit sale as well as in offering fee for service options. About 6000 SHS have been sold to rural customers. The credit offer requires a 50% down payment and 3 to 6 monthly payments with an interest rate of 3 % per month.<br/>The fee for service approach with 1500 SHS had to be terminated after the end of the World Bank´s credit support, as the service fees have not been sufficient to cover the primary investment costs of the systems. SOLUZ has calculated that a monthly fee of 18 $ would be required while the customer has to pay the battery himself.<br/>There are just a few producers of agriculture machines that produce hydropower turbines and the technical level is very low. The customers are mostly owners of coffee plantations, therefore FHIA started to produce hydropower turbines itself. | | In the field of photo voltaic systems about 8 providers work in Honduras of which Solaris, Soluz, CADELGA and Soluciones Energeticas are the most important. The Solar companies in general have difficulties developing markets in rural areas. The different subsidy schemes of international donors make the commercial distribution even more difficult.<br/>Soluz has developed interesting activities in the field of cash and credit sale as well as in offering fee for service options. About 6000 SHS have been sold to rural customers. The credit offer requires a 50% down payment and 3 to 6 monthly payments with an interest rate of 3 % per month.<br/>The fee for service approach with 1500 SHS had to be terminated after the end of the World Bank´s credit support, as the service fees have not been sufficient to cover the primary investment costs of the systems. SOLUZ has calculated that a monthly fee of 18 $ would be required while the customer has to pay the battery himself.<br/>There are just a few producers of agriculture machines that produce hydropower turbines and the technical level is very low. The customers are mostly owners of coffee plantations, therefore FHIA started to produce hydropower turbines itself. |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | === <br/>Other Organizations Involved in this Sector === | | === <br/>Other Organizations Involved in this Sector === |
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| | ''Associations:'' The hydro power, solar, geothermic, wind and biomass private operators are organized in the Asociación Hondureña de Pequeños Productores de Energía Renovable – AHPPER. Through this organization small project developers can receive technical assistance to elaborate feasibility studies and business plans, as well as to locate credit opportunities, equipment and specialized technical assistance.<br/>''Regional and International organizations''<br/>The Centro American Bank of Economic Integration (Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economica -BCIE) with the implementation of the ARECA Project promotes funding for renewable energy projects through the reduction of financial barriers, by implementing a mechanism for partial credit guarantee and capacity building to foster the development of small projects the involved renewable energy in Central America (under 10 MW). The funds for this project come from the Global Environment Fund and are supervised by UNPD in Honduras.<br/>The European Commission through the project “energy efficiency and renewable energy for SME´s”, enabled the access to funds for investments that reduce energy consumption, that increase energy efficiency and different types of renewable energy technology for power generation.<br/>World Bank is currently working on a project whose goal is to generate between 59 and 100 kW using Micro Hydro power in various rural areas in Honduras.<br/> | | ''Associations:'' The hydro power, solar, geothermic, wind and biomass private operators are organized in the Asociación Hondureña de Pequeños Productores de Energía Renovable – AHPPER. Through this organization small project developers can receive technical assistance to elaborate feasibility studies and business plans, as well as to locate credit opportunities, equipment and specialized technical assistance.<br/>''Regional and International organizations''<br/>The Centro American Bank of Economic Integration (Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economica -BCIE) with the implementation of the ARECA Project promotes funding for renewable energy projects through the reduction of financial barriers, by implementing a mechanism for partial credit guarantee and capacity building to foster the development of small projects the involved renewable energy in Central America (under 10 MW). The funds for this project come from the Global Environment Fund and are supervised by UNPD in Honduras.<br/>The European Commission through the project “energy efficiency and renewable energy for SME´s”, enabled the access to funds for investments that reduce energy consumption, that increase energy efficiency and different types of renewable energy technology for power generation.<br/>World Bank is currently working on a project whose goal is to generate between 59 and 100 kW using Micro Hydro power in various rural areas in Honduras.<br/> |
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| | = Policy Framework = | | = Policy Framework = |
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| | '''The biofuel production and consumption law (Decree 144-2007) '''promotes the production of bio-fuel through tax exoneration. This exoneration is valid for a period of 12 years and benefits private companies located in Honduras, which use national raw material to produce energy. The law designates the Secretary of Industry and Commerce as the institution responsible of elaborating policies for bio-fuel production, operations authorizations, and certification of each industrial and commercial activity related to the bio-fuel productive chain.<br/>During 2010 the National Congress approved a national plan in effect for seven presidential terms,'''“Vision of Country 2010-2038 and Nation Plan 2010-2022'''”. One of the goals of this plans is to have 80% of the energy matrix which comes from renewable energies sources, through private and public investment -with emphasis on hydroelectric power-, and sales of reduction emission certificates (CERs). The plan also aims to reduce rural population without access to electricity to 55% by 2022 and to 0% by 2034. This plan is the first plan in Honduras for which a specific law has been created. The first projects are expected to be implemented in 2011. | | '''The biofuel production and consumption law (Decree 144-2007) '''promotes the production of bio-fuel through tax exoneration. This exoneration is valid for a period of 12 years and benefits private companies located in Honduras, which use national raw material to produce energy. The law designates the Secretary of Industry and Commerce as the institution responsible of elaborating policies for bio-fuel production, operations authorizations, and certification of each industrial and commercial activity related to the bio-fuel productive chain.<br/>During 2010 the National Congress approved a national plan in effect for seven presidential terms,'''“Vision of Country 2010-2038 and Nation Plan 2010-2022'''”. One of the goals of this plans is to have 80% of the energy matrix which comes from renewable energies sources, through private and public investment -with emphasis on hydroelectric power-, and sales of reduction emission certificates (CERs). The plan also aims to reduce rural population without access to electricity to 55% by 2022 and to 0% by 2034. This plan is the first plan in Honduras for which a specific law has been created. The first projects are expected to be implemented in 2011. |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | == <br/>Energy Policies for Rural Electrification == | | == <br/>Energy Policies for Rural Electrification == |
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| | As described above the policy regarding rural electrification is mainly developed and executed by ENEE via the OES-FOSODE. FOSODE was able to raise significant funds from international donors in the last decade, resulting in an annual budget of around $10 million per year<ref name="PNUD">_</ref> . From 2001 up to 2008 137,337 households have gained electricity trough FOSODE<ref name="ENEE.2008.Info">ENEE.2008. Informe de Proyectos de electrificacion realizados en el periodo 2002-2008. Division de Ingenieria. ENEE. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 1 p.</ref>. At this rate, ENEE could increase the electrification rate from 43% in 1994 to 79.3% in 2009 <ref name="ENEE">_</ref>.<br/>Due to the high demand for electricity from rural communities, since 2002 ENEE with support of CIDA has developed a “Plan Nacional de Electrificación Social” (PLANES) whose aim is to increase the coverage of the national grid to rural areas and peri-urban marginalized settlements. The scope of PLANES, which was initially planned to terminate in 2012, has been extended to 2015 with an increase in the electrification rate, which is now of 80%. Currently, the activities are mainly concentrated on grid extension, only about 25 diesel powered mini-grids has been included. However, there are doubts that this approach is economically feasible.<br/>The average costs for grid connection of rural households quickly increases if the remoter villages are targeted. Consequently, during the last grid extension projects of ENEE the costs exceeded US$ 700 per household . Other studies claim costs in excess of US$ 1000 per household including required investments in transmission grids of ENEE. To reach the goal of an electrification rate of 80% by 2015, average annual investments of US$ 40 million from 2005 to 2015 have been estimated instead of the US$ 10 million p.a. which FOSODE has worked with up to 2008.<br/>Additionally, the current subsidies on electricity increase with every new connection, which adds on the costs of grid extension. Therefore, the World Bank is currently propose to make FOSODE an independent institution promoting rural electrification and to focus more on off grid options using renewable energy<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>. | | As described above the policy regarding rural electrification is mainly developed and executed by ENEE via the OES-FOSODE. FOSODE was able to raise significant funds from international donors in the last decade, resulting in an annual budget of around $10 million per year<ref name="PNUD">_</ref> . From 2001 up to 2008 137,337 households have gained electricity trough FOSODE<ref name="ENEE.2008.Info">ENEE.2008. Informe de Proyectos de electrificacion realizados en el periodo 2002-2008. Division de Ingenieria. ENEE. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 1 p.</ref>. At this rate, ENEE could increase the electrification rate from 43% in 1994 to 79.3% in 2009 <ref name="ENEE">_</ref>.<br/>Due to the high demand for electricity from rural communities, since 2002 ENEE with support of CIDA has developed a “Plan Nacional de Electrificación Social” (PLANES) whose aim is to increase the coverage of the national grid to rural areas and peri-urban marginalized settlements. The scope of PLANES, which was initially planned to terminate in 2012, has been extended to 2015 with an increase in the electrification rate, which is now of 80%. Currently, the activities are mainly concentrated on grid extension, only about 25 diesel powered mini-grids has been included. However, there are doubts that this approach is economically feasible.<br/>The average costs for grid connection of rural households quickly increases if the remoter villages are targeted. Consequently, during the last grid extension projects of ENEE the costs exceeded US$ 700 per household . Other studies claim costs in excess of US$ 1000 per household including required investments in transmission grids of ENEE. To reach the goal of an electrification rate of 80% by 2015, average annual investments of US$ 40 million from 2005 to 2015 have been estimated instead of the US$ 10 million p.a. which FOSODE has worked with up to 2008.<br/>Additionally, the current subsidies on electricity increase with every new connection, which adds on the costs of grid extension. Therefore, the World Bank is currently propose to make FOSODE an independent institution promoting rural electrification and to focus more on off grid options using renewable energy<ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>. |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | <br/> | | <br/> |
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| | '''The General Environmental Law (Decree 104-1993), '''establish that all activities concerning to electricity generation and transmission must be reported to the Environmental Authorities, and could not be carry out these activities without a environmental evaluation and authorization. In particular hydro electrical projects, depending on its size, have to get either an environmental registration (0.5-1MW), an environmental authorization (1-3 MW) or an environmental license (>3MW) | | '''The General Environmental Law (Decree 104-1993), '''establish that all activities concerning to electricity generation and transmission must be reported to the Environmental Authorities, and could not be carry out these activities without a environmental evaluation and authorization. In particular hydro electrical projects, depending on its size, have to get either an environmental registration (0.5-1MW), an environmental authorization (1-3 MW) or an environmental license (>3MW) |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| − | <br/>
| |
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| | = Opportunities for Rural Electrification = | | = Opportunities for Rural Electrification = |
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| | With 50% of 20Wp SHS for US$ 400 each and 50% of 50 Wp SHS for US$ 600 each, the total cost of the disseminated systems would be of US$ 200 millions and would require an annual budget of approx. US$ 22 millions per year <ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>.<br/> | | With 50% of 20Wp SHS for US$ 400 each and 50% of 50 Wp SHS for US$ 600 each, the total cost of the disseminated systems would be of US$ 200 millions and would require an annual budget of approx. US$ 22 millions per year <ref name="ESMAP">_</ref>.<br/> |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | = Further Information = | | = Further Information = |
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| − | *[https://energypedia.info/EnDev-Honduras EnDev-Honduras] | + | *[[EnDev-Honduras|EnDev-Honduras]] |
| | + | *[https://www.ptb.de/cms/en.html PTB] project "[[:File:PTB_project_LAC_Energy_95309_EN.pdf|Quality Infrastructure for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy]]" in Latin America and the Caribbean |
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| − | [[Honduras Energy Situation#Overview|Go To Top]] | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| − | = References<br/> =
| |
| | | | |
| | + | = References<br/> = |
| | <references /> | | <references /> |
| | + | [[Honduras Energy Situation#toc|►Go to Top]] |
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| | + | [[Category:Latin_America]] |
| | [[Category:Honduras]] | | [[Category:Honduras]] |
| − | [[Category:Country_Energy_Situation]]
| |
Gross electricity generation of the national grid (Sistema Interconectado Nacional –SIN) is currently around 6,539 GWh, of which 53% are petrol power plants, 42% hydro power plants, 1% coal power plants, 1% gas and 3% co-generation.
Besides this, as a result of a special investigation conducted by the Honduran Accounting Superior Court (Tribunal Superior de Cuentas) on ENEE’s direct contracting for the supply of electric energy to the system, have been disclosed to a broader audience a comparative analysis of the generation costs of thermal plants as well as the irregularities that ocurr on direct contracting processes. Among other aspects, this investigation concludes that the energy price offered was calculated considering the coal cost in one case 64% higher and other case 39% higher than international market prices.[4]
These losses as well as these higher energy prices limit the ENEE to invest in social electrification projects or expand infrastructure.
The installed capacity increased from 565 MW in 1994 to 1,605.79 MW (not firm) in 2009 while the demand increased from 453 MW to 1,203 MW in the same period[2]. According to the National Expansion Plan 2007-2020 expected demand growth is 5.7% annually[5]. For this reason, the contracting of 250 MW from renewable sources generated by private companies, which at the moment has been discussed by the National Congress; as well as the planned interconnection of the six power grids of the Central American countries (Central American Electrical Interconnection System), could contribute to meet demand growth for the future.
As mentioned before, the main energy source for the residential sector comes from firewood, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas. The main use of this firewood is cooking, and in some cases lighting and heating.
It is estimated that a household, without access to electricity, uses approximately 525 kg of firewood per year.[6] Taking into consideration the total population without access to electricity in Honduras, that would means 11 million m3 per year.The calculated demand increased of firewood is 2.96% annually.[6]
The main source of firewood in Honduras is the forest. Due to this, the extraction of firewood is considerate one of the causes of deforestation at the national level[7] . Some studies indicate that between 1990 and 2005, Honduras lost 37.1% of its forest cover, or around 2,737,000 hectares . Despite this, 59% of its territory today remains covered by forests, but the estimated annual rate of deforestation of 62.000Ha/a.[8] boasts a fast reduction of this resource in Honduras.
The poverty of the population, the access to other energy sources, as well as the country’s rural population density, determines the usage of firewood as a main source of energy in Honduras. This could means that the usage of firewood, will not change in the short term, if the actual conditions of the energy sector in Honduras persist.
Under these circumstances, to make the use of firewood more efficient becomes a necessity thus to contribute to the reduction of the current actual rate of deforestation. One example is the use of improved firewood stoves. With these approximately 70% of the firewood is reduced in comparison to the traditional stoves. In addition to the reduction of the firewood consumption, there are other advantages for use of these stoves such as: more efficient use of heat, reduces the smoke in the kitchen which in turn reduces respiratory diseases by the inhalation of smoke, and improves hygiene in the home.[6]
Recently a study carried out in two rural communities in Honduras assessed the carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter levels among non-smoking Hondurans women cooking with traditional or improved wood-burning stoves. As a result’ of this study women with the improved stoves had 63% lower personal particle matter concentrations, 73% lower indoor particle matter concentrations, and 90% lower indoor carbon monoxide levels as compared to women with traditional stoves.[9]Which causes respiratory diseases.
Besides this, the study showed that it’s important to properly train the families as well as the local craftsmen(artisans) in stove maintenance and construction in order to decrease pollution emissions of these improved stoves in the future. This study concludes that designing kitchens with proper ventilation structures could lead to improved indoor environments, especially important in areas where biomass will continue to be the preferred and necessary cooking fuel for some time.[9]
Electricity is currently sold at an average price of 103 US$/MWh or 10.34 cents per KWh. The total cost including generation, transmission and distribution is calculated to be 127 US $/MWh or 12.75 cent per KWh. Due to the application of cross subsidies, specially applied to the residential sector, end users pay approximately 100 US $/MWh or 10 cents per KWh. In this sector it is estimated that only 80% of the feed is paid it by the end user[3] . Additionally adjustments to the cost per KWh have been postponed during 2009 and part of 2010, even though they are necessary due to increases in the oil prices.
Currently ENEE in its expansion plan has identified 41 projects to enlarge energy transmission and distribution, but only 27% are being funded. Mostly these funds comes by private and national funds and as well as loans[10].
Honduras has one of the lowest rural electrification rates in Latin America after Nicaragua. About 54 percent of the rural population still lacks access to electricity[11]. In absolute terms, it is estimated that more than 386,000 households or more than 1.93 Million people in rural areas remain without access to electricity.
The national electricity system is concentrated in the western part of Honduras while the sparsely populated eastern part remains mainly beyond economic line-extension distances. The population density in Honduras is about 58 inhabitants per square kilometer. While in the western departments the density reaches proportions of 137 Inhabitants per km2 (Francisco Morazán) and 306 Inhabitants per km2 (Cortés), it declines to 17.5 in Olancho and 4 in Gracias a Dios - Mosquitia, both of them located in the eastern part of Honduras.
In rural areas population is highly dispersed and access to electricity is often difficult (for example, there is only river access to most of the Mosquitia Region). These two characteristics prevent provision of electric services by the conventional grid, and call for site-specific off-grid solutions such as diesel plants, solar or hydropower plants.
Off-grid electrification in Honduras consists mainly of installing diesel minigrids, operated by independent companies to serve some larger villages on the bay islands (Roatán Electric Company” RECO, “Utila Power Company” UPCO, “Bonaca Electric Company” BELCO) and in Puerto Lempira, Gracias a Dios (INELEM and ELESA). In a few cases hydroelectric and solar home systems have been implemented.
Otherwise in-grid electrification in the rural area is characterized by very old network working with secondary circuits which in some cases are too long and cause a large voltage drop and high losses[3]. For the time being efforts to increase the electricity coverage have been hindered due to an inexistent adequate rural electrification approach and policy which could contribute to articulate, the decentralization at a local level, the involvement of municipalities and the private sector, and the use of alternative energy local supplies.[3]
ENEE (Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica) owns 4 thermal power plants with a total capacity of 28.9 GWh[12]. Additionally, 7 hydropower plants with a total capacity of 2,539.6 GWh are owned an operated by ENEE[3]. The private sector has a total capacity of 3,992.4 GWh[3](14 thermal power plants with 3,578.8 GWh, 13 private hydropower plants with 257 GWh and 8 biomass cogeneration plants with 156,2 GWh[3].
Monopoly by ENEE with the exception of some isolated grids on the bay islands (Roatán Electric Company” RECO, “Utila Power Company” UPCO, “Bonaca Electric Company” BELCO) and in Puerto Lempira, department of Gracias a Dios (INELEM and ELESA).
Honduras power sector started a deep restructuring in 1994, as a consequence of a crisis. As a result, a new Electricity Law was elaborated which opened the possibility to generate, transmit and distribute energy, which was being managed exclusively by the state-owned Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica (ENEE). Another important step was to separate the roles of policy makers, the regulators and providers of electrical services.
However, only the generation was opened to private producers while ENEE stills buys all electricity via long term power purchase contracts and manages the national transmission system (SIN) and the distribution. ENEE faces a deep financial crisis since the year 2000 and later in 2005 the discussion about finally unbundling ENEE has been taking place. Talks of increasing the generation capacity and the elaboration of a power sector strategy for the country has intensified.
Some public institutions involved in the energy sector are: The Energy Cabinet, The Ministry for Nature Resources and Environment (Secretaría de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente - SERNA), The National Energy Commission (CNE), the national electricity utility (Empresa Nacional de Energía Electrica-ENEE), and others.
Energy policy in Honduras remains highly disorganised with many different institutions involved without a clear separation of responsibilities and tasks. The main conflict lies in the fact that the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment (Secretaría de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente - SERNA) through its subsection Dirección General de Energía (DGE) has the formal responsibility while the national electricity utility Empresa Nacional de Energía Electrica (ENEE) whose director takes up even the rank as minister, has the technical expertise and support, and maintains the control of all the activities connected to the SIN.
Even the Fondo Social de Desarrollo Eléctrico (FOSODE) which was founded in 1994 with the aim to increase the electrification rate is managed by the Oficina de Electrificación Social (OES) as a subsection of the ENEE. Consequently all grid connected activities are implemented by the ENEE while SERNA in cooperation with some international donors implementing off grid projects based on solar and hydroenergy.
At the same time even the Ministries of Health and Agriculture, the Council on Science and Technology (Consejo Hondureño de Ciencia y Tecnología – COHCIT) (with the rank of a ministry as well) and the Honduran Social Investment Fund (Fondo Hondureno de Inversion Social-FHIS) have implemented some off grid renewable energy projects specially in rural areas parallel and/or without coordination.
Energy is only a side topic for most Honduran NGOs. The umbrella of development organisations, the Federación de Organizaciones Privadas de Desarollo – FOPRIDEH with 73 members, is not focusing on rural energy supply.
There are two Honduran NGOs, AHDESA and PROLEÑA which have expertise with to the introduction of improved stoves. They are both partners of the EnDEv-HO Project. The project involves several NGOs in the dissemination of stoves and SHS of which the most important is Hermandad de Honduras.
As to rural electrification, almost no information exists about Honduran NGOs that implement their own projects. This reflects the strong monopoly of ENEE, which still is regarded by most Hondurans as the entity responsible for rural electrification.
However, some very small scale activities have been carried out by the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA) in the field of micro hydro power, who, by the way is also a partner of EnDev Ho.
In the field of photo voltaic systems about 8 providers work in Honduras of which Solaris, Soluz, CADELGA and Soluciones Energeticas are the most important. The Solar companies in general have difficulties developing markets in rural areas. The different subsidy schemes of international donors make the commercial distribution even more difficult.
Soluz has developed interesting activities in the field of cash and credit sale as well as in offering fee for service options. About 6000 SHS have been sold to rural customers. The credit offer requires a 50% down payment and 3 to 6 monthly payments with an interest rate of 3 % per month.
The fee for service approach with 1500 SHS had to be terminated after the end of the World Bank´s credit support, as the service fees have not been sufficient to cover the primary investment costs of the systems. SOLUZ has calculated that a monthly fee of 18 $ would be required while the customer has to pay the battery himself.
There are just a few producers of agriculture machines that produce hydropower turbines and the technical level is very low. The customers are mostly owners of coffee plantations, therefore FHIA started to produce hydropower turbines itself.
As described above the policy regarding rural electrification is mainly developed and executed by ENEE via the OES-FOSODE. FOSODE was able to raise significant funds from international donors in the last decade, resulting in an annual budget of around $10 million per year[5] . From 2001 up to 2008 137,337 households have gained electricity trough FOSODE[13]. At this rate, ENEE could increase the electrification rate from 43% in 1994 to 79.3% in 2009 [12].
Due to the high demand for electricity from rural communities, since 2002 ENEE with support of CIDA has developed a “Plan Nacional de Electrificación Social” (PLANES) whose aim is to increase the coverage of the national grid to rural areas and peri-urban marginalized settlements. The scope of PLANES, which was initially planned to terminate in 2012, has been extended to 2015 with an increase in the electrification rate, which is now of 80%. Currently, the activities are mainly concentrated on grid extension, only about 25 diesel powered mini-grids has been included. However, there are doubts that this approach is economically feasible.
The average costs for grid connection of rural households quickly increases if the remoter villages are targeted. Consequently, during the last grid extension projects of ENEE the costs exceeded US$ 700 per household . Other studies claim costs in excess of US$ 1000 per household including required investments in transmission grids of ENEE. To reach the goal of an electrification rate of 80% by 2015, average annual investments of US$ 40 million from 2005 to 2015 have been estimated instead of the US$ 10 million p.a. which FOSODE has worked with up to 2008.
Additionally, the current subsidies on electricity increase with every new connection, which adds on the costs of grid extension. Therefore, the World Bank is currently propose to make FOSODE an independent institution promoting rural electrification and to focus more on off grid options using renewable energy[3].
The World Bank concludes that the least expensive solution to reach the goal of the Honduras Government of 400,000 new connections by 2015 would be the dissemination of SHS.
With 50% of 20Wp SHS for US$ 400 each and 50% of 50 Wp SHS for US$ 600 each, the total cost of the disseminated systems would be of US$ 200 millions and would require an annual budget of approx. US$ 22 millions per year [3].
