Sep 19 - Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

Institutional investors from the United States and Europe will offer Central America 20 million US dollars in clean energy development aid, announced the non- government organization (NGO) "E+Co Capital Latin America" on Sunday.

The "Central American Renewable Energy and Facilities for Clean Production" (CAREC) fund will be available by late 2005, said the organization.

The initiative to collect funds to support the generation of alternative energy in the Central American countries came against the background of rising petroleum prices, said an E+Co Capital Latin America official, Fernando Alvarado.

Seventy percent of the CAREC money will be used for generating electricity through renewable systems, while 1.0 million dollars will be used for technical assistance. The rest will go to projects on the efficient use of energy and clean production, said the NGO.

At present there are "interesting" options to finance business plans on energy efficiency, a "key" issue in Central America, which demands the development of alternative technologies to meet the energy demand and promote a responsible consumption, said Alvarado.

Among the participants of the CAREC program are the Central American Economic Integration Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.