The clean energy project will be developed in Panama, in an area of more than three thousand hectares, using wind turbines that will generate electricity interconnected to the national grid through a substation.
CentralAmericaData's Commercial section provides an up-to-date list of public and private construction projects that have submitted Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) to the respective institutions in each country.
Last year, 87 environmental impact studies were submitted in the countries in the region, for the construction of power generation plants and works on electricity networks.
Panama is the country in the region where the largest investment is concentrated, with an approximate $1.29 billion in energy projects, corresponding to 32 environmental impact studies submitted to the Ministry of the Environment between January and December 2017.
Work has started on the first phase of the Toabré wind power generation project in Panama, with an investment of over $150 million.
From a statement issued by Audax Renovables:
Badalona, May 9, 2018.- Audax Renewables, subsidiary of renewable energy generation in the Audax group, which is participating together with local partners in the project of the Toabré wind farm in Panama, wishes to state that construction work has been started for the first phase of 66 MW of installed power of the wind farm with a total investment of more than 150 million dollars.
In Panama, an extension has been granted to the definitive license for the company Parque Eólico Toabré, to build a wind power generation plant with an installed capacity of 110 MW.
In the original project, to which the ASEP granted a definitive installation and exploitation license in 2008, the planned installed capacity was 225 MW, but the company requested at the end of 2017 to reduce it to 110 MW.
In Panama, the Supreme Court of Justice has annulled an environmental impact study for a wind farm with 75 wind turbines, which was planned to be built in the Fortuna forest reserve.
Arguing that the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) should have been category III, instead of II, because it is within a protected area, the Third Chamber of the Court for contentious administrative proceedings decided to declare the resolution of 2014, "null for being illegal", a resolution which had approved the EIA submitted by the company Luz Eólica de Panamá.
Details of the ten most valuable construction projects in terms of investment, for which environmental impact studies were submitted in the last twelve months.
Of the 10 most important construction projects for which Environmental Impact Studies were submitted to the Ministry of the Environment between August 2016 and July 2017, four are to be developed in the province of Colón, with an estimated investment of $2 billion.
In Panama, Clean Green Energy S.A. has been granted a provisional license for the construction and operation of a wind farm with an installed capacity of 40 MW in the province of Colón.
From Resolution AN No.11357-Elec:
IT IS RESOLVED:
FIRST: To grant to CLEAN GREEN ENERGY, S.A., registered in the Public Registry, on File 155635462 of the Mercantile section of the Public Registry, a Provisional License for the construction and operation of a wind power plant, called PROYECTO EÓLICO VIENTO NORTE to be located in the district of San José General, Donoso district, province of Colón, with an installed capacity of 40 MW.
Forecasts are that by 2018, 170 MW will be incorporated into the national interconnected system through three new wind power generation projects.
From a statement issued by the Asep:
The incorporation of three new wind power projects in 2018, which will contribute approximately 170 MW to the National Interconnected System (SIN by its initials in Spanish), projects that Panama will be one of the most productive countries in the region in this area.
In Panama a provisional license has been awarded to Innovent Central America S.A. for the construction and operation of a wind farm with installed capacity of 56 MW, in Cocle.
From the order issued by the National Authority of Public Services (ASEP):
In a transaction whose amount was not disclosed, Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy and Actis sold 100% of the equity of the 125 MW wind farm Cerro Hula to Corporacion Multi Inversiones.
From a press release by Actis Energy:
Actis, a leading growth markets investor, and Mesoamerica, a Latin american investment management firm, today announced the sale of their stake in Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy (GME) to Corporacion Multi Inversiones (CMI) a corporation of Central American origin with activities across 13 countries. CMI is acquiring a combined 100% stake from Actis and Mesoamerica.
An Environmental Impact Assessment study has been presented for the construction in Chiriqui, Panama, of a 19.8 MW wind power generation plant.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study was presented by Energía Verde S.A. to the Ministry of Environment in Panama in July.The document emphasizes that the project, called Chimenea I will have a capacity of 19.8 MW and will have 13 triple-speed turbines with variable pitch unit of 1500 kW rated power as a minimum, properly distributed.
Plans are in place to develop a wind farm with 36 wind turbines called La Vikinga, in Santa Fe, Veraguas.
The company Eólica Energy S.A. plans to develop the project in an area measuring 2,200 hectares, 1,327 hectares of which are in the protected area of the Santa Fe National Park.
According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study submitted to the Ministry of Environment in March 2016,"... exploration was carried out in the concession area, dividing it into two areas in order not to affect the protected area. For example, zone 1, where most of the wind turbines will be, will be 'direct intervention', which covers 872 hectares and is outside of the protected area of the Santa Fe National Park. This is an area being used for agricultural and livestock activities."
In the first five months of the year wind generated electricity exceeded 600 million Kwh, almost three times more than in the same period in 2015.
The national supply of electricity generated by wind power grew by 259% in the period January-May 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, according to figures from the Office of the Comptroller General of Colombia.
In Costa Rica, 19 projects were selected as "eligible" by the state run power company, but the same institution has ruled out opening new competitions to purchase more wind-generated power.
EDITORIAL
Investment in alternative energy is risky, because it depends on uncontrollable external factors such as unpredictable weather variations, which have particular effects on hydraulics, solar and wind power.
In the last two years the country which is the Latin American champion in wind energy lost $63 million a year from purchasing wind MWh at $70 and having to resell it at $7.
EDITORIAL
We are in agreement with the need to contribute to the sustainability of human development on this planet, and the need to transform the energy matrix of countries in order to become less dependent on oil, but the balance of the cost of this transformation needs to be adequate, in order to avoid making the kind of mistakes committed by the government of Uruguay.