The first utility-scale solar farm in Panama will be produced by a construction-management team in Carlsbad. More good news for Panama and forward thinking that will help as Panama continues on its growth path in the future.
Greenwood Biosar, with a dozen employees working out of offices in North County, has been awarded a contract for engineering, procurement and construction of a solar farm near Chitre, southwest of Panama City, the company announced this month. Terms were not revealed.
The 2.4-megawatt solar array, capable of powering more than 1,000 homes, will provide electricity to customers of state-owned utility Empresa de Generación Eléctrica, or EGESA.
Panama is seeking out more electricity to offset the expansion of its transoceanic canal and a new subway system in Panama City, said Greenwood Biosar General Manager George Kanetakis.
The new solar farm also is part of an effort to trim Panama’s growing reliance on fossil-fuel power plants. Hydroelectric facilities generate nearly half of Panama’s power but cannot keep pace with growing electricity demands because of geographic and environmental constraints.
Greenwood Biosar is owned in equal parts by Greenwood Energy, a New York-based alternative energy investment firm, and Aktor/Biosar, a division of Athens, Greece-based construction contractor Ellaktor Group. Total installed solar generation capacity for the joint enterprises will exceed 400 megawatts by the end of 2013.
Recent projects include one of Vermont’s largest solar photovoltaic power plants in Sheldon Springs, about 35 miles north of Burlington, completed in August.
Chief Operating Officer James McCrea explained that Greenwood Biosar was formed at the start of 2012 but its owners have lengthy experience carrying out solar projects. The company works almost entirely through subcontractors.
“It allows us to compete with the big boys, and be light on our feet and not have big overhead,” he said. “Even though we’re only a year-and-a-half old, there’s increadible experience behind us.”
Greenwood Biosar’s clients have included renewable energy developers EDF Renewables and AES Solar.