As part of the initiative, children from the nearby schools planted 10,000 tree saplings in a day-long program that included representatives from the Nacaome Municipality as well as the solar plant.
Conducted under the framework of the “Day of National Tree”, the tree planting program is part of the emissions reduction measures mandated by the Honduran Forest Conservation Institute and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
The afforestation initiative is also a contribution to the Government effort to counter the damage wreaked by the bark beetle that has destroyed flora in 600,000 hectares of forest in Honduras in recent months.
“The primary purpose is to contribute to a greener Honduras and raise awareness among the residents of neighboring communities to project the importance of protesting forests” says Daniela Borjas, Social and Environmental Manager of the Agua Fria solar plant that generates about 100,000 MWh of clean energy annually. The solar plant avoids 60,000 tons of CO2 emissions per annum in a country that is heavily dependent on diesel power as the source of energy generation. The Honduran National Plan states that by 2022, 60% of the domestic demand will be supplied from Renewable sources.
The Agua Fria’s Social Investment Program undertakes health, education and afforestation initiatives with a focus to improving the quality of life for the local communities. The Environment Team of the solar park will monitor the growth of the saplings to ensure the afforestation efforts are successful. “We want to inculcate the culture of environmental responsibility, both with our partners and with our neighbors,” says Borjas.
About Scatec Solar
Scatec Solar is an integrated independent solar power producer, delivering affordable, rapidly deployable and sustainable source of clean energy worldwide. A long term player, Scatec Solar develops, builds, owns, operates and maintains solar power plants, and already has an installation track record of close to 600 MW.
The company is producing electricity from 383 MW of solar power plants in the Czech Republic, South Africa, Rwanda, Honduras and the United States. Construction of an additional 43 MW solar power plants in Jordan is under way.
With an established global presence, the company is growing strongly with a project backlog and pipeline of close to 1.5 GW under development in the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Scatec Solar is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘SSO’.