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.
In a lengthy report, Martesfinanciero.com details the features of the AES Colón project, “which will generate 380 megawatts through three natural gas turbines -one of them steam based- for the country and will provide greater energy efficiency, because 60 % of the gas or fuel will produce 100% of the generation of the service. “
See: “Panama: Financing for 381 MW Plant“
Senior vice president and director of global operations at AES, Bernerd da Santos said in report by Martesfinanciero.cr that “… ‘The location of the plant in Colon is privileged. We are building a plant to produce electricity that will provide stability to Panama’s energy system, which is mainly hydrologic, and will also complement the supply of natural gas, with a tank with a capacity of 180 thousand cubic meters for other uses, because 25% of that fuel will be for power generation and the rest, 75%, can be used by industries, vehicles and even for the bunkering system because of the global trend of cargo ships changing fuel from oil or diesel to gas, or installing a dual system for the use of both hydrocarbons’. “
See also: “Energy in Panama: Regulation for Natural Gas“
“… more than 100 thousand cubic meters of gas are available, which will be distributed to the entire maritime transport system, as well as land vehicles and to serve a distribution system to countries in Central America and the Caribbean.
“The vision of AES and investors is that the plant will be the focus of a major project: to transform Panama into a secure energy supplier for Central America and the Caribbean taking advantage of the location of the Canal and the route to the Atlantic.”
Once the plant starts operating it will begin supplying power to Gas Natural del Atlántico, a subsidiary of AES and winner of the tender to supply 350 MW for ten years from 2018 at a price of 11.3 cents per kilowatt hour.