The CFA explained, “Minerco is developing clean energy projects in Honduras and has a portfolio of projects that are very high margin. Alternative energy is supported by the Honduran Government and they seem to be in the right place at the right time.”

An excerpt from the report follows:

Business Plan

Problems Addressed

The Government wants to resolve three major problems:

1. Reduce the dependence on fossil fuel power generation due to high and variable costs of petroleum fuel (bunker fuel predominately) thereby reducing green house gas generated and accruing environmental benefits to the society.

2. Increase power generating capacity across the system so as to support a growing, developing economy, eliminate black outs, etc.

3. Improve access of rural areas to electricity thereby improving the standard of living.

Proposed Solution

Build a run of the river hydroelectric power plant in northwestern Honduras capable of generating 6 megawatts of power on an average basis throughout the year. The selected project (Chiligatoro) location is only three km from the national grid and will be located on the Chiligatoro and Manazapa Rivers. A run of the river hydro-electric plant diverts a portion of the water stream through a pipe called a penstock which feeds the power station turbine down river.

There is no dam above the power station and the diverted water is returned to the river below the station. The turbines are driven by the kinetic energy from the water which is created from the elevation drop. The diversion mechanism will be built at 5,700 feet above sea level and the power station is at 4,300 feet above sea level therefore the vertical drop is 1,400 feet. A 34.5 KVA Substation will be built enabling connection to the 3 phase power grid.

The advantage of a run of the river system is you do not have to flood the basin above the power station creating a large reservoir that impacts the environment and may cause people living nearby to be relocated. The disadvantage is that the flow is dependent on the rainfall and power generation may be quite seasonal. A run of the river plant has little ability to store water for the dry season so cannot coordinate supply with other producers. The micro–climate in this location is believed to have significant rainfall even in the dry season.

Additional local benefits are up to 100 employment positions during construction and as many as 30 permanent positions during the power generation period. Click here to download the entire report.