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CHAPTER TWO ASSESSMENT OF ENERGY RESOURCES AND APPLICATIONS OF POWER GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR HONDURAS 2.1 Introduction

Honduras, the second largest country in Central America, is a poor nation where approximately 70 percent of the population lives in poverty; with more than 40 percent of its residents living without access to electricity. Honduras’ 2000 per capita gross domestic product(GDP) was US $800. The nation’s economy grew at an average rate of about three percent during the 1980s through 1998. Inflation peaked at 34 percent in 1991 and stabilized near nine percent in 1992. The population growth rate of Honduras is among the highest in Central America, with a rural rate of 2.1 percent and an urban rate of 4.9 percent. The urban population increased (largely due to internalmigration) from 23 percent of the nation’s total in 1966 to 40 percent in 1998. These shifts in population will affect the consumption and growth rate of electricity. In October 1998, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua were struck by Hurricane Mitch, which dumped more than five feet of rain in less than four hours on Honduras. More than 11,000 people were killed, hundreds-of-thousandswere injured, and more than 2.5 million people were displaced from their homes because of flooding and mudslides. The region’s economy suffered a severe blow as jobs, businesses, and infrastructure were lost. Hardest hit was Honduras, where the vast majority of capital resources – roads, bridges, ports, factories, hospitals, schools, and utilities – were destroyed. Government and privateestimates for the reconstruction effort are pegged at more than US $8 billion. The GNP in the following year (1999) dipped to negative 01.9 percent. MetroVision, the economic development arm of the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce, coordinated a wide range of personal and institutional relief initiatives, including a collaborative effort with the U.S. government and military officials to securerelief supplies and the means necessary to transport this aid to the stricken areas. In response to requests from a broad-based Honduran public-private partnership, MetroVision convened leaders of five Louisiana universities (The University of New Orleans, Tulane University, Louisiana State University, Loyola University, and Southeastern Louisiana University) to develop a plan to deliver long-termcapacity building assistance in areas where Louisiana’s academic resources are well known. MetroVision’s components are offering education, training and consultation to help rebuild Honduras’ economy, and to improve the quality of life for its citizens and enhance the country’s role in the global marketplace. This report focuses on assessing energy resources and applications of appropriate powergeneration technologies in Honduras. This is part of an overall effort to assess Honduras’ power production capability, identify energy-related problems, and provide recommendations for implementing a national energy strategy. The complete final report will be available in 2002.
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2.2 2.2.1

Current Energy Resources and Power Generation Status Energy Resources

Honduras lacks fossil fuelresources. Oil imports for 2000 averaged 28,380 barrels per day (see Table 2.1). Of this amount, 26,230 barrels were consumed, 330 barrels per day were exported, and 52 barrels were reserved (use of 1,300 barrels were not specified). Honduras does not have an oil refinery, nor does it have natural gas production or import facilities. Honduras imported 680,000 short tons of hard coal in 2000 (Table2.1). Table 2.1 Honduran Energy Production and Import Data (USDOE)
Honduras Energy Data Report Year 2000

Oil (Thousand Barrels per Day, 2000) Productio Refiner Export Recycled Imports n y s 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.15 1.55 0.77 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 6.13 1.57 0.00 -0.03 0.00 0.00 7.61 11.05 0.02 0.03 Stock Build 0.00 0.00...