In 2023, about 60% of electricity consumed in Honduras came from low-carbon sources, while fossil fuels supplied roughly 38% and net imports accounted for about 2%. Hydropower was the largest clean source, providing almost a third of electricity. Biofuels contributed around 10%, solar nearly 9%, wind about 6%, and geothermal roughly 3%. Honduras therefore already gets more than half its electricity from low-carbon sources, but fossil fuels remain a substantial source of climate-changing emissions and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in Honduras?

Electricity consumption per person has not yet regained its historical peak. In 2023, it stood at around 1,120 kWh per person, roughly 27 kWh below the 2019 record of 1,146 kWh. Low-carbon electricity generation was also below its peak: about 677 kWh per person, roughly 25 kWh below the 2021 record of 703 kWh. These shortfalls are disappointing, although comparisons with record years alone do not establish whether electricity grew or declined in the latest year. Restoring growth in clean electricity would help Honduras meet rising demand from electrification and digital services.

Suggestions

Honduras can build on its existing solar sector through additional large-scale projects and rooftop installations, supported by stronger electricity networks and storage. Chile offers a useful Latin American example, generating about a quarter of its electricity from solar, while Uruguay demonstrates how wind can provide around a third. Honduras should also consider nuclear electricity as a longer-term option, including opportunities for regional cooperation, workforce development, and regulatory preparation. France, where nuclear supplies about two-thirds of electricity, illustrates its potential to provide substantial clean generation; the US state of South Carolina obtains more than half from nuclear. Together, expanded solar, wind, and consideration of nuclear could help Honduras grow its low-carbon electricity supply and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

History

Historically, Honduras’s low-carbon electricity growth was led by hydropower. Selected annual increases in the late 1980s and 1990 reached 0.4–0.6 TWh, followed by a 0.4 TWh decline in 1994 and an equal recovery in 1996. The early 2000s brought further hydro declines, but increases of 0.3–0.5 TWh in several years from 2005 through 2010 restored momentum; biofuels also added 0.3 TWh in 2009. The mid-to-late 2010s brought welcome diversification: solar increased by 0.4 TWh in 2015 and 0.5 TWh in 2016, while wind added 0.4 TWh in 2018. Hydro rose by 0.7 TWh in 2017 before falling by 0.8 TWh in 2019, when biofuels increased by 0.5 TWh. A strong 1.1 TWh hydro increase in 2021 marked the largest annual gain in the supplied history.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade