Wednesday, June 15, the town hall of Capotille, the Electricity of Haiti (EDH) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) proceeded to the inauguration of a community micro-hydropower plant with a capacity of 11 Kilowatts, located in Magazen (commune of Capotille), a rural locality of the border area, 13 km south of the town of Ouanaminthe.

Funded by the micro financing Programme (MFP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through UNDP and the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), the project brings clean, renewable energy to about 71 families in this remote community and inaccessible of Northeast of Haiti.

The electrification of the community of Magazen opens new socio-economic opportunities for families who can now benefit from a night light, but also of access to mass media like radio and television.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Jean Parnell Dimanche the National Micro Financing Program Coordinator (MFP) of UNDP Haiti, welcomed the community involvement in the realization of this project "[...] With this plant, Magazen sets the tone of the fight against climate change and the crucial issue of deforestation. This community is currently doing the happy experience that can bring us the South-South cooperation."

This experiment shows that rural development policies are effective tools to reduce the rural exodus. UNDP and its partners remain confident that this project, among others, will be a prime tool in this logic. With this initiative, UNDP and its partners wish to contribute to reducing the gap in this regard between cities and rural areas. Because cities have always been better served by electricity than the countryside.

Katleen Wainright, the Director of Planning of the Electricity of Haiti (EDH), acknowledged that this achievement is an example to follow across the country "This project makes me believe that it is possible to replicate this experience in other areas of the country. And I think we should think about it seriously," she suggested.

Learn more about Haiti and hydropower :

Haiti is the country with the lowest electrification rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. Only 10% of the Haitian population has very limited access to electricity. Until today, the Electricity of Haiti (EDH) manages among others, hydropower plants with a total installed capacity of 61 MW, the most important remains that of Péligre. Apart from power plants already installed, Haiti's hydroelectric potential is estimated at over 150 MW or about three times the capacity of the plant of Péligre (study conducted in 2014 by AECOM).

The sun and wind are also sources of renewable energy that Haiti could advantageously exploit.

HL/ HaitiLibre