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For NRECA International, Ltd., Nearly a Decade of Progress in Guatemala
(International Tieline Newsletter, July 2009)
NRECA International Ltd. manages several initiatives in Guatemala. Here’s a profile of how work in the country started, and a few examples of what it has done.
How Work Began in Guatemala
- NRECA International established the Electricity for Progress Trust Fund to finance investments in grid-based and off-grid renewable energy projects throughout rural areas of Guatemala with a commodity grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program.
What NRECA International Ltd. has Accomplished
- Since its creation in 2000, the Trust Fund has dispersed more than 100 loans totaling $5.3 million to fund feasibility studies and investments for:
- Calibration bench
- Off-grid solar PV projects
- Distribution system expansion in grid-served areas
- Domestic house wiring
- Energy efficiency
- Acquisition of equipment and materials by small and medium rural agro-enterprises that utilize electricity for economically productive purposes.
- NRECA International and the NRECA International Foundation have created permanent and productive linkages between local utilities and the U.S electric cooperatives through the Foundation’s Sister Co-op program.
- An example of this program is the partnership between the Kandiyohi Power Cooperative of Spicer, MN, and the Municipal Electric Utility of Zacapa.
- Kandiyohi has donated over $100,000 in equipment and materials, including safety equipment and tools for two professional line operation and maintenance crews, two utility trucks, computers, and volunteer labor to provide orientation and training to Zacapa’s utility management team and operational personnel.
Upcoming Projects
- Two projects in Guatemala are planned for the late summer/early fall
- Electrification of Santa Catarina in Ixcan. This is a community that has never had any type of electricity before, not even diesel generation. Representatives from Georgia co-ops will volunteer; the effort will benefit more than 200 community members.
- Technical training and assistance with the remodeling of the electrical grid in Jalapa. This will be done by a crew of six linemen from Singing River Co-op in Mississippi.
To learn more about the work of NRECA International Ltd. in Guatemala, visit the Guatemala program page.
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