Accelerating Renewable Energy Investments through CABEI in Central America

The overall objective of the project is to accelerate renewable energy investments through the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). The project is a regional approach, involving Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Belize which aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by promoting use of renewable energy systems for electricity generation in grid connected applications, thereby contributing to the economic development of Central America. The specific objective of this project is to remove financial barriers that currently impede the large-scale development of renewable energy projects in Central America. Barrier removal requires the following activities: 1. Integrate small-scale renewable energy lending strategies internally at CABEI; 2. Development of a pro-active small-scale renewable energy pipeline to be included in the lending portfolio of CABEI; 3. Development of appropriate risk mitigation mechanisms to increase the availability of investment capital for RE projects less than 10MW; and 4. Support market penetration through expanded financing opportunities.