Panama's Largest Solar Power Plant
Oct 16, 2019
Inelsa is a Spanish-based engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) group that is currently working on deploying 150 MW photovoltaic installations in Panamá.
According to the company, the solar power plant will launch about 450,000 components on a 300-hectare site, generating enough power to meet the needs of 160,000 ordinary homes.
Inelsa boss Manuel Domínguez said in a response from the Spanish media that these figures make the solar project the largest witness project in Panama to date.
According to IRENA, as of December 2019, the PV installed capacity of this country with a population of 4 million is estimated at 165 MW.
The completed PV project roster to date includes Solarcentury's 9.9 MW Divisa Solar, which was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank in early 2016.
So far, another major name for Panama Solar is Enel, which currently operates a running 12MW Chiriqui plant in the western part of the country and operates a larger 42MW plant near the Panama Canal.
The 42MW photovoltaic power station - 5MW, 8MW, 11MW, 10MW and 8MW power plants - was completed in 2017 after an investment of $55 million and is currently providing electricity to Enel's Fortuna hydropower plant.
Elsewhere in Panama, the Spanish group Gransolar announced in 2019 that it has completed the deployment of its 40MW solar portfolio and powered four 10MW plants near the city of David.
Panama – The inter-ocean canal revenue expected to be completed in 2017 will account for half of its total revenue – it is estimated that by 2050, photovoltaic, wind and hydropower will account for 77% of installed capacity.
Last May, IRENA warned that the country needed to revise its regulatory framework to meet clean energy targets, including changing the way PPA compensates for photovoltaics and wind energy.
For Inelsa, work in Panama has added a 2GW energy portfolio that it claims has been deployed globally, delivering photovoltaic and centralized solar power plants in Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.
The prospects and challenges of solar and energy storage in Latin America will be at the center of Solar Media's Latin American energy storage in Colombia from April 28 to 29, 2020.
