AES inaugurates natural gas power generation plant
Posted on 2018-08-17
AES Panama opened the first electricity generation plant based on natural gas in Central America on August 17, with an investment of USD $1,150 million dollars (mdd), which transforms the nation into a liquefied natural gas distribution hub (LNG) of the region.
Juan Carlos Varela, president of the Republic and various executives of AES Panama attended the opening ceremony.
The plant is located in Isla Telfers, province of Colon and with its start-up, the country's energy matrix is ​​strengthened with an installed capacity of 381 megawatts (MW).
"This work is another example of what can be achieved when we join the efforts of the government and the private company and is part of a strategic vision of the State that will expand the country's power generation capacity, incorporating hydro, wind, solar and now energy based on natural gas, "said President Varela.
The Panamanian government is expanding the country's energy matrix, in order to achieve fair and reasonable prices per kilowatt in the short term to benefit every nation, trade and economy.
The construction of this plant generated more than 2,500 jobs, and 200 direct jobs will be opened for the production period.
The AES Project is comprised of two stages: the first is the delivery of the LNG plant and the second comprises a storage tank facility that shows 87% progress and is expected to come into operation in 2019.
LNG allows its use at any scale in various sectors such as industry, transport, power generation and bunkering, it can also be transported in containers, gas pipelines, ships and trucks.
This plant is one of the most important works that have been done in the Panamanian energy sector due to the investment and the entrance of a safe and reliable source of energy that reduces the use of expensive fuels, the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and imports derived from oil.
AES Panama is a subsidiary of the United States that began operations in 1999 and to date has invested approximately 2,600 million dollars in the country.
Source: Forbes
