Fransisco Morazan (el Cajon) — Honduras

Fransisco Morazan (el Cajon) is a 300 MW hydro power station in Cortes, Honduras. It is operated by Empresa Nacional De Energia Electrica. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 300k homes (estimated). It ranks #3 of 47 Honduras power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 30.4% of Honduras's electricity; the national grid averages 322 gCO₂/kWh (55.4% low-carbon) (2024).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1029354.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000601788; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 300 MW, Fransisco Morazan (el Cajon) is well above the median hydro plant in Honduras (12.8 MW). Technically it is described as conventional storage. Hydropower converts the energy of falling or flowing water into electricity; output depends on rainfall and reservoir level, and large dams also provide grid balancing and storage.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of Honduras hydro capacity

55.1% of 544 MW across 12 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

1 of 3 dated hydro plants in Honduras is older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Honduras

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Empresa Nacional De Energia Electrica. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 15.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #1 largest hydro power plant of 12 in Honduras by capacity.

Honduras has 12 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 544 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Rio Lindo · Hydro · 109 MW · Cortes
• Canaveral · Hydro · 29 MW · Cortes
• Cuyamapa · Hydro · 12.8 MW · Yoro
• Azulosa · Biomass · 4 MW · Yoro
• Villanueva power station · Oil · 50 MW · Cortés
• Compania Azucarera Hondurena · Biomass · 26 MW · Cortes

Location

Coordinates 15.0293, -87.7455 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions