Honduras Renewable Energy Financing Facility

The Honduras Renewable Energy Financing Facility focuses on strengthening renewable energy capabilities by providing financing for renewable energy projects in Central America.

As economies in Central America have started growing at an increasing rate, dependence on fossil fuels for transportation and electricity has become unsustainably high. H-REFF, managed by Deetken Impact Sustainable Energy, provides financing to projects that utilize solar, wind, biomass, biogas, and energy efficient technologies across Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. H-REFF finances a dozen small-scale renewable energy project while creating thousands of new jobs in the region.

As CO₂ emissions decline in the region and more people see the expansion of existing sustainability efforts, H-REFF will continue to break down barriers in the renewable energy sector.

In addition to delivering solid financial returns, Deetken Impact Sustainable Energy is committed to benefiting the communities where they work by generating meaningful and measurable environmental and social impacts that contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Impact story - hydropower for Betulia
Betulia, a community in the Department of Colon, Honduras, hosts the site of a renewable energy project funded by H-REFF and General Equipment Supply SA. The Rio Betulia Hydroelectric Power Plant is a five-year, run-of-the-river project that uses the water flow from the Betulia River for energy generation, providing renewable energy and strengthening local and regional electricity systems.

Like many places around the globe, the Department of Colon was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the third-highest number of infected people in the country. It’s also one of the poorest regions in Honduras, as most families live off subsistence fishing or farming.

Due to stringent restrictions on movement imposed by the Honduran government, along with the spread of the virus in Colon, people were unable to work or travel to urban areas to sell their products and purchase supplies. As a result, Colon’s communities were extremely vulnerable and lack adequate access to food.

To address these problems, GES created a plan to increase their reach in local communities. Despite the difficulties of sourcing and transporting food supplies during this time, they sourced, purchased, and delivered basic food baskets to 170 families in the area, benefiting more than 1,080 people.

In April, GES delivered food baskets with beans, rice, sugar, cornmeal, butter, pasta, salt, coffee, tomato sauce, soup, and laundry soap to the communities of Betulia, Samaria, La Fortuna, and Sapote, all located in the Betulia river basin. These donations allowed residents to comply with social isolation rules while still having enough food to feed their families.

Through H-REFF, Deetken Impact is proud to partner with companies that not only aim to create a positive social or environmental impact but continually support the evolving needs of the communities in which they operate.

The Praxis commitment
Praxis Mutual Funds supports organizations such as Self-Help Enterprises through investments in Calvert Impact Capital, an impact-investing institution that helps people around the world through community development financing. It’s part of the Praxis commitment to place approximately 1% of each of its funds to benefit neighborhoods and individuals through community development investments.