IDB To Help Refurbish Hydro Power Plant In Haiti
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) recently approved a US$12.5M grant for a program to refurbish Haiti's hydroelectric plant and to improve the reliability of energy supply for its capital, Port-au-Prince.
Over the past decade the Péligre hydroelectric plant (CHP) has contributed about half the energy distributed by the state-owned utility Électricité d'Haïti (EDH), which relies on diesel-fueled thermal generators to meet additional power demand.
The dam that houses CHP also regulates the water level in the Artibonite valley, Haiti's main agricultural region. The power plant, which came on stream in 1971, has three turbines with a total generation capacity of 54 megawatts.
However, due to the diminishing volume of water in the reservoir caused by sedimentation and its aging equipment, CHP currently only generates electricity at about half its potential output in optimal operational conditions.
The IDB resources will finance investments in the first phase of a $40 million rehabilitation program. The next two phases may be supported by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' Fund for International Development and by an additional grant from the IDB.
During the first phase of the program a first turbine and other shared electrical equipment will be refurbished. The second phase will entail the rehabilitation of a second turbine and of the power transmission line linking CHP and Port-au-Prince. The third turbine will be restored during the final phase.
The program, which will be carried out over a five-year period, will be executed by Haiti's Ministry of Public Works and EDH. The rehabilitation of CHP is expected to help Haiti boost its output of low-cost, renewable energy and achieve savings by reducing the need for importing fossil fuels, which generate greenhouse gases.
Studies for the preparation of the program were funded by the IDB's Infrastructure Fund and the Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Initiative, which is also assisting Haiti in drafting an energy efficiency plan and proposals to promote biofuels and other renewable energy sources.
In coordination with the Haitian government, international agencies and donor countries, the IDB supports a strategy with short-, medium- and long-term goals to improve Haiti's electrical services. The IDB is currently financing a program to rehabilitate EDH's distribution network in Port-au-Prince and reduce its technical and financial losses.
SOURCE: Inter-American Development Bank