Research director:
Dr. Andreas Georgoulias
Research core team:
Cristina Contreras, ENV-SP
Judith Rodriguez, ENV-SP
Case study written by:
Arianna Galan, Master in Architecture I 16´
Confidential budget
Choluteca I and Choluteca II PV
Total capacity 58.4 MW
Phase: Operation started in July 2015
Sponsor: Sun Edison
The Choluteca project, Honduras, involves the development, construction and operation of two utility scale solar PV plants: Choluteca I and Choluteca II with a combined installed capacity of 58.4 MW. The plants will sell all of the energy they produce for the next 20 years to Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (ENEE), the Honduran public company responsible for managing the generation, transmission and distribution of energy. The project is part of a broader initiative by the Honduran government to expand their energy matrix in a sustainable, clean, reliable, and cost efficient way. Project Choluteca will help Honduras reduce its dependence on fossil fuels while avoiding emissions equal to c. 13,000 cars.
SunEdison, the project sponsor, is working to implement various sustainable practices that go beyond the environment and focus on transforming the nearby communities. These include building a community center and a school for children; donating 100 solar PV systems to be installed on the rooftops of local families that do not have access to electricity; installing an elevated water tank that will bring potable water to local communities; and providing access to the project sites to engineering students so they can learn more about renewable technologies.
For further info, download executive summary in EN|SP and full text in EN|SP.
