The United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) agency has approved an application by the 12.2-MW Cuyamapa hydroelectric project in Honduras to sell carbon emissions credits.
The Executive Board of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change issued a registration in December for the run-of-river project with a daily regulation dam on the Cuyamapa River in Yoro Department.
Developer ENETRAN and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) applied for permission to sell carbon emission reductions (CER) equal to 35,660 metric tons of carbon dioxide that the project is to avoid each year.
Cuyamapa is to produce an average of 48,190 MWh annually for sale to the national grid under a 15-year power sales contract to national utility Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica. The project features two horizontal Pelton turbines of 6.1 MW each with a head of 368.3 meters.
The applicants said revenue from sale of CERs will help the project overcome development barriers including access to finance. CABEI, the main source of local funds for such projects, specifically commissioned development of Cuyamapa as a CDM project to increase the project’s financial attractiveness, reducing overall portfolio risk from the small hydro sector.
Other parties involved in the CER application are the governments of the United Kingdom and Austria, EcoSecurities Group, and Kommunalkredit Public Consulting GmbH.
