The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), has provided $6.5 million for the construction of a new solar power plant in the Caracol industrial park (North-East Dept.). This solar power plant will improve access to electricity services for tenants of Caracol Industrial Park (PIC) and 14,000 residential and business customers in surrounding communities and reduce overall electricity costs. This large renewable solar energy program initiated by the IDB, to which USAID is contributing, will finance the construction of two solar power plants inside the PIC, an 8 MW plant and a 4 MW plant, with a total value of of $ 23 million.

US Ambassador to Haiti Michele Sison said “In addition to attracting investors and creating jobs, more affordable and reliable energy will improve the lives of residents living near the PIC."

The electricity supply for the PIC is currently provided by the $17 million thermal power plant, which was built in 2012 by USAID. This 10 MW oil and/or diesel thermal power station. Currently, the plant supplies electricity to five industrial customers operating 14 factories within the PIC and five neighboring municipalities. However, tariffs are high for industrial users due to the price of imported fuel. (They are much higher than prices in the Dominican Republic, for example.) High energy costs threaten the competitiveness and sustainability of the PIC.

Pierre Michel Joassaint, Director General of the Operational Technical Unit of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (UTE/MEF) underlined "Thanks to the solar power plant, electricity costs will drop significantly, and the PIC will become more competitive. This should help attract new tenants and create more jobs in the park. UTE also expects the tariff to decrease for customers in surrounding communities, providing the opportunity to expand the grid and increase access to electricity in the region."

The two solar power plants will be built inside the PIC on about 18 hectares of land already assigned to industrial use and will be connected to the existing power plant. The two solar power plants will be operated and maintained by a single independent private operator. The contract for the design, installation, operation and maintenance of the two solar power plants will be awarded by UTE/MEF through an international call for tenders launched in September 2020.

HL/ HaitiLibre