Above: the Peligre hydroelectric plant (Photo: IDB)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Haiti’s government today signed a contract with French firm Alstom-Comelex to refurbish the country’s Peligre hydroelectric plant, its principal source of renewable energy.
The three-year, $48.8 million contract was signed by Public Works Minister Jacques Rousseau, Finance Minister Andre Georges, Electricite d’Haiti Director General Gary Valdemar and Alstom managers Olivier Richer and Marc-Antoine Blond.
In December, the Inter-American Development Bank approved a $20 million grant to help complete and supplement financing for the plant’s refurbishment.
Peligre will recover its original 54-megawatt generation capacity by implementing an overhaul of its three turbines and modernizing its equipment and control systems.
The 40-year-old plant currently uses only a fraction of its potential.