The existing 102MW Cerro de Hula wind project, 20 kilometres south of the capital Tegucigalpa, will be expanded thanks to a guarantee of $82.4 million from MIGA, the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group.
The guarantee covers developer Globeleq Mesoamérica Energy's equity investments in the project against the risks of expropriation, breach of contract, transfer restriction, and war and civil disturbance.
Expected to come online in 2015, the extension will feature Gamesa G87-2MW turbines, as does the original development.
A long-term power purchase agreement with ENEE, the Honduran state-owned power utility, has already been agreed.
In Honduras, the electricity sector's dependence on fuel oil means that it is subject to oil price volatility. Retail tariffs are among the highest in Central America.
Cerro de Hula is the first wind power plant in Honduras and remains the largest wind farm in Central America.
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