By Belize Live News Staff: Belize borrowed US$77 million from the Saudi Fund for Development in August 2023 to build a 60 megawatt solar plant. Three years later, the plant does not exist yet.
Here is what the money was meant to do.
Belize buys a significant share of its electricity from outside the country and burns fuel for the rest. When global fuel prices rise, that cost flows through to customers. A large solar plant would generate power domestically, reducing that exposure.
The problem with solar alone is that it stops producing when the sun goes down, which is precisely when household demand peaks.
That appears to be behind the redesign. Minister of Public Utilities Michel Chebat says the project is being restructured into a hybrid, splitting capacity between solar generation and battery storage. Batteries hold daytime output for use in the evening, which is what turns solar from a supplement into something the grid can lean on.
Chebat says the project is still expected to come on stream.
The loan itself was signed nearly three years ago and remains a debt Belize carries.
Would you rather see this done fast or done right?
