PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti 12/28/11 (PennWell) — Restoration of Haiti’s Peligre hydroelectric plant took a step closer toward becoming reality after the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced the approval of a US$20 million grant for the project.
The project will enable Haiti to restore and preserve Peligre’s original installed capacity of 54 MW by rehabilitating three turbines, electromechanical equipment, communications and control systems, alternator insulation, and external substation and alarm systems.
The hydropower facility has been operating at less than half its capacity in recent years, according to an IDB release, forcing the country to rely more heavily on thermoelectric plants.
The Peligre project has previously received $12.5 million from IDB, $13.7 million from German development agency KfW, and $15 million in concessional financing from OFID — OPEC’s international development fund.
Utility company Electricite d’Haiti (EDH) most recently called for bids for the project in May 2011. Work on the project is scheduled to begin in 2012.