OPIC Board approves $135m financing for Ormat geothermal project in Honduras
Landscape in Honduras (source: flickr/ maxid, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
16 Sep 2016
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has announced approval for $135 million in financing for the 35 MW Platanares geothermal power project by Ormat Technologies in Honduras, Central America.
Reported in an announcement yesterday, the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, approved support for new development projects totalling just over $1 billion. These private sector-led development projects will invest in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, the Caribbean, and Central America in a variety of sectors including transportation, financial services, clean energy, and infrastructure.
Of the $1 billion in approved, OPIC approved a $135 million in financing for a geothermal project in Honduras.
The financing is for the 35 MW Platanares geothermal project by Ormat Technologies in Honduras. We reported earlier this year that construction started for the project in January this year.
The financing of $135 million now approved by OPIC is for the development, construction, and operation of Platanares project in Western Honduras.
Honduras requires a 26 percent increase in power generation capacity over the next decade to keep up with projected GDP growth. This project will be the first utility-scale geothermal project in Honduras and is expected to generate sustainable, reliable, and cost-effective power, while contributing to the Honduran Government’s goal of generating 80 percent of its energy from renewables by 2032.
Source: OPIC
