According to the Panama Canal Authority, NG Power only has permission to build a 130 MW plant, so it will have to go through a new procedure if it expects to develop the 670 MW plant, as planned from the beginning.
The permit requested by Panama NG Power and approved by the Canal Board in 2011, is for two generators of up to 45 MW each and a third steam generator of up to 40 MW, which together total 130 MW.
The U.S. government approved up to $350 million to finance part of the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) power generation plant EDP in Acajutla, El Salvador.
The U.S. government, through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), approved the financing on March 20, 2019, according to the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador.
Panamanian authorities have declared the deadline passed for Panama NG Power to present evidence of economic backing for the construction of the 670 MW natural gas plant.
Last December ajudicial rulingwas issuedby means of which Panama NG Power was granted 150 days to demonstrate that it has the economic capacity to develop the project. According to the company's interpretation, this time period began on March 8, 2018.
After requesting an extension to postpone the date of entry into operations, authorities at AES Panama confirmed that the plant will begin operations on September 1.
Construction of the plant started in May 2016 and will have three generators, three gas turbines and one steam turbine, reaching a total installed capacity of 381 MW.
One month after its license was canceled, a judicial ruling has reactivated the project to construct and operate a 670 MW natural gas plant, under the responsibility of NG Power.
The National Public Services Authority has canceled the license it had granted to the Panama NG Power to build and operate a thermoelectric generation plant in Colón, Panama.
Ending a process that lasted more than seven years, the National Public Services Authority has permanently canceled the license that had granted to Panama NG Power S.A. to build a thermoelectric plant with an installed capacity of 670 MW.
Panama NG Power has been given authorization to postpone until 2020 the start-up of operations of the natural gas-based generation plant to be built in Cristóbal, in the province of Colón.
The energy supply contracts signed between Panama NG Power and the energy distributors Edemet, Ensa and Edechi were modified so that the start-up of the natural gas plant could be postponed until 2020.
In Panama a bill has been put to public consultation that establishes a legal framework for developing the activity of importing natural gas, its storage, local distribution and re-export.
The bill declares the promotion and development of the provision of a public natural gas service in the country to be of public and national interest.The import, export and re-export of natural gas are declared as activities of general interest.
AES and Engie have agreed to create a joint venture to market and sell liquefied natural gas to third parties in Central America.
The new company will use infrastructure of the Costa Norte LNG Terminal, which is currently under construction in Colón, Panama, owned 50/50 by AES and Inversiones Bahia.
The total capacity of Costa Norte LNG Terminal is approximately 1.5 million metric tons per year (mtpa), of which 25% will go to AES Colón's 380 MW combined cycle plant (CCGT), currently under construction at the same site.
The ASEP has reactivated the license granted to Panama NG Power to build and operate a 670 MW generating plant based on natural gas in Cristobal, province of Colon.
The licenseinitially granted in 2011, was canceledduring the current administration of the Public Services Authority (ASEP) because of delays in delivering information on Panama NG Power's project financing. Now,"... The appeal on constitutional guarantees granted by the Supreme Court to the company has forced the Asep to declare the license valid."
The 380 MW natural gas plant to be built by AES in Panama promises to change the country's energy matrix, and the way energy is generated and distributed in Central America.
The economic flow that has already started with the construction of the gas plant in the province of Colon will be felt not only in the energy sector in Panama, which could become an energy generating and distribution hub in the region, but also in other productive sectors that will benefit from greater stability in energy costs and generate greater dynamism in logistics and shipping.
The company Engie has also announced the construction of a plant with storage capacity of 180,000 cubic meters for the generation of 350 MW.
From a statement issued by Engie:
ENGIE announces the signature of a binding Memorandum of Understanding with Gas Natural Atlántico, under which ENGIE will supply up to 400,000 tonnes of LNG per year from 2018 on a 10-year period at Costa Norte LNG Terminal in the Colon Province, Panama.
It has been announced that thirty companies, including Enel Green Power, have expressed interest in participating in the tender to supply natural gas, valued at $800 million.
From a statement issued by the Presidency of El Salvador:
About 30 companies are interested in participating in the tender to find a supplier of gas for power generation in the investment project run by the company Energías del Pacífico, to produce more than 350 megawatts of power, said the Technical and Planning Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic, Roberto Lorenzana.
The company AES is studying the feasibility of expanding the Andrés terminal in the Dominican Republic in order to export liquefied natural gas and build a pipeline with capacity to generate 1,000 MW of energy.
For the expansion of the terminal at Andrés an $25 million investment is estimated, while for pipeline construction the company AES plans to invest $100 million. These projects are expected to be ready during the third quarter of 2016.
Two social welfare institutions are considering whether to invest $90 million in gas generation plants to sell electricity to the National Electric Power Company.
In order to cover the increased demand which arises in seasons of highest energy consumption, the National Institute of Retirement and Pensions for Employees and Officials of the Executive Branch (INJUPEMP) and the Honduran Social Security Institute are considering investing in power generation based on gas. The investment would mean allocating about $90 million to the purchase of mobile plants to sell supplies to the National Electric Power Company.