"In Honduras, solar power has done more harm than good, communities say", 09 July 2026

...Los Prados is a single complex but the contracts were awarded in pieces — company by company — making them small enough to require more lenient environmental permits, according to the report. This meant the projects didn’t require environmental impact assessments to mitigate damage to the surrounding ecosystems.

As a result, large swaths of old-growth Calabash trees (Crescentia cujete) were destroyed...Its location near streams, rivers and estuaries also limited access to drinking water and killed fish.

Solar panels are cleaned and kept clear of weeds with harmful chemicals, residents said...

Residents also said they weren’t adequately consulted about the potential impacts of the project.

The companies that purchased the shares of the original contracts — Scatec Solar, Norfund, and KLP Norfund Investments — met with the community on a “by farm” basis as opposed to organizing meetings for the entire community, according to an outside 2024 legal analysis by EcoJuris, an environmental consulting firm.

Scatec Solar and KLP Norfund Investments didn’t respond to Mongabay’s request for comment...

Over 30 complaints about prior consultation and other irregularities have been filed by residents, MASSVida and the Network of Women Human Rights Defense Lawyers. The complaints haven’t advanced, according to the report.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office couldn’t be reached by Mongabay for comment...

The figures suggest that the development of solar power didn’t lead to a planned withdrawal of fossil fuel power plants, the IPS report said. Instead, it created a new market for wealthy national and transnational investors...