Total Eren moves into Honduran wind with power deal for long-simmering San Marcos

Part TotalEnergies-owned independent power producer sets seal on 25-year PPA with Latin American country's national electricity company to re-energise 112MW project

Total Eren, the 30% TotalEnergies-owned independent power producer, is entering the Honduran wind market with a first project, San Marcos, having set the seal on a 25-year power deal with national electricity company, Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (ENEE) for production from the future plant.

The long-in-development 112MW wind farm, to be built in San Marcos de Colón in the Choluteca department by a special purpose company, San Marcos Wind Energy (SMWE), will generate 500GWh a year once online, enough to supply electricity to 460,000 Hondurans, while avoiding 390,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

“It is a major step forward in the development of the San Marcos wind project, Total Eren’s first in the country,” said Fabienne Demol, Total Eren’s global head of business development.

“The project… will provide low-carbon and competitive electricity to the Honduran population. We are excited to begin construction of the project and look forward to pursuing leveraging Total Eren’s expertise as we continue to grow in the Central American market.”

Under the terms of the power purchase agreement, SMWE will be responsible for strengthening the country’s power grid through construction of 95km of 230kV line connecting the Choluteca department to the Francisco Morazán department, as well as building a substation and carrying out “reinforcement works” to two of Honduras’ existing substations.

“ENEE will benefit from the lowest tariff for the sale of electricity from renewable sources in the country,” said Total Eren, which had agreed to buy SMWE last March.

San Marcos was originally conceived of as a 50MW project, with backing from the World Bank and Dutch development bank FMO.
Honduras’ biggest wind farm, Cerro de Hula, was brought online in 2012 with a 102MW nameplate, before being expanded to a 126MW plant.
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Published 15 February 2023, 16:11Updated 14 October 2023, 14:26
HondurasLatin AmericawindTotal ErenTotalEnergies