70.7 million lempiras to finance solar energy project at Honduran university

17/10/2016

Efficient solar energy use will strengthen educational management at the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán and allow it to strengthen its scholarship program.

Tegucigalpa, October 17, 2016. - Spain’s Debt Conversion Program to Honduras, which is administered by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) announced the startup of the “Strengthening Educational Management at the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán (UPNFM) through the Use of a Photovoltaic Energy Project.”

The initiative involves the installation of solar energy panels with a capacity of approximately 1.4 megawatts, which will supply electricity to the university’s installations.

As part of the project, the savings in the electricity bill as a result of using the renewable energy generation system will be allocated to expanding and improving the scholarship program for students, professors and administrative personnel of the Centro de Investigación e Innovación Educativa (CIIE), a teaching school on the university campus offering pre-kinder through secondary education.

This program will ensure that people of limited means in any part of Honduras can have access to a scholarship at the UPNFM. Approximately 1,500 people have been identified as potential direct project beneficiaries among students with scholarships and trained technical personnel, as well as the sustainability of the university’s renewable energy systems. Indirect beneficiaries include the 12,000 people who work at the UPNFM and their family members.

It is important to mention that the actions being carried out through this program fall under the framework of the development policies of the Honduran and Spanish governments, as well as the axis of Social Development in the CABEI 2015-2019 Institutional Strategy, which is targeted at improving the quality of life of all Central Americans.

The representatives of the Honduran and Spanish governments and the UPNFM and CABEI officers discussed the project’s important contribution to improving the environment, not only by using renewable energy, but also by reducing energy use to improve energy efficiency, with a direct impact on Honduran education.

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