The Central American Economic Integration Bank (BCIE) over the next five years will finance small and medium scale renewable energy projects with 89 million dollars. It is creating mechanisms to allow flexible financing, technical and viability assistance so that the renewable energy initiatives can help promote a new energy policy in the region, Nelson Ávila, energy adviser to the Honduran president, told Tierramérica.

More than 50 percent of the Central American population, of about 35.5 million inhabitants, use fossil fuel-generated electricity, and with petroleum prices on the rise “we need to look for alternatives. We want to finance small projects that generate an average of about 10 megawatts and that would not otherwise have access to commercial bank loans,” said Ávila.

The BCIE will coordinate the initiative in partnership with the multilateral Global Environment Facility.