Honduras’ first geothermal project starts this month

Located in La Unión, with 35 MW of capacity and a projected production cost of $0.10 per kWh, the plant was developed by Geotérmica Platanares, S.A. de C.V., a Honduran company.

Total investment was $180 million, including a loan of $135 million, according to a report from United States-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

U.S.-based Ormat Technologies Inc. in 2013 signed a 15-year Build, Operate, and Transfer contract for the Platanares project with Electricidad de Cortes S.A., a thermal energy company based in San Pedro Sula.

Ormat, whose stock trades on the exchanges of New York and Tel Aviv, designs and builds power-generating equipment for geothermal and recovered-energy plants in 30 countries.

Platanares is expected to improve energy service in the western region of Honduras, including Santa Rosa de Copán and Ocotepeque.