IDEAS Energy Contest: Pico hydro franchising
- Aims
- To provide off-grid electricity and income to rural village communities in Honduras using small scale hydroelectric (pico hydro) technology.
- Region
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Status
- Planning
- Summary
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This project will provide power to rural villages in Honduras which are too remote to be hooked up to the national grid.
Under the franchising model proposed, local communities will initially be employed to work on the pico hydropower plants that will power their village, over time they will earn direct income from the profits generated by the plants.
- Full Description
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Many rural Honduran villages are without power because it is not commercially viable for the state-owned electricity company to extend the national grid to them.
This project will construct small scale pico hydro plants to provide power to these villages.
The plants will generate enough electricity for local people to run lighting, radios, and other basics equipment. This project will have minimal environmental impact because no dams are used.
The project will use a franchise business model which will see local communities initially employed part time to assist in construction, earning the Honduran minimum wage. After five years the villages will partially own the hydroelectric plants, and can pay themselves an income from their collectively owned enterprise.
The franchise model is focused on expansion and replicability. Two prototype pico hydro businesses have already been established. The hope is eventually to create 456 village franchises providing 137,000 people with electricity.
This project is one of the winners of the Energy Innovation Competition IDEAS 2009, to improve energy efficiency and expand access to renewable energy. The Contest is jointly sponsored by GVEP International, GTZ, IDB and the Government of Korea. This project is funded by GVEP International.
About the award winner:
This project is a joint venture between Honduran renewable energy association APPHER and Energia Para Aldeas (EPA), a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based development organisation Village Energy Inc. APPHER will provide legal and environmental advice and EPA will be responsible for implementation.
