Belize gets $23.75 million for solar and battery minigrids

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $23.75 million financing package for a rural electrification program in Belize that will bring electricity to around 3,000 households through solar minigrids, BESS, smart meters, and distribution grid extensions.

The IDB will finance the design, construction, and installation of PV minigrids equipped with BESS and smart metering technologies. The program will also extend distribution networks to connect homes and community facilities and provide infrastructure for new electricity users.

The project will focus on rural communities with high proportions of Indigenous and immigrant populations, according to the IDB. It also aims to strengthen technical and institutional capacity to plan, operate, and maintain rural electrification infrastructure.

The program includes measures to promote productive uses of electricity in beneficiary communities, with the aim of supporting local economic activity through new electricity supplies.

The financing package totals $23.75 million. Of this, $20 million is a loan under the IDB’s Global Multiple Works operation, funded from the bank’s ordinary capital. A further $2.75 million comes from a non-reimbursable investment grant from the bank’s grant financing mechanism, while the Low Carbon Energy Fund will provide an additional $1 million grant.

The $20 million loan has a 25-year repayment period, including a 5.5-year grace period, with an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).

The project is the IDB’s first operation in Belize’s energy sector. In addition to providing direct electricity access to around 3,000 households, the bank expects the program to improve the planning, implementation, and sustainability of rural electrification in the country.