As Panama has chosen a new energy course, orienting on renewable energy sources, new investing into this field are welcomed. SkyPower announces about cooperation with Panamanian government to construct 500MW solar energy facility.
In 2014 the countries of Central America announced that they were going to increase their interest in renewable energy sources. Panama is not an exception in this context and is also taking this path. Panama has quite high insolation levels throughout year, thus, it possesses a considerable perspectives for solar energy development. As the prices for solar energy has been recently scaling down, it is quite an efficient energy option for Panama to stick to.
In February 2015 the government of Panama announced that they had installed 80MW solar PV capacity as the confirmation of credibility of their intensions. Fernando Diaz, Director of Electricity from the National Secretariat in Panama said that renewable energy commitments seemed to be very successful, as they would put forward more energy tenders than ever. "As we work hard to ensure the best energy programs for Panama, solar energy is becoming an even more important part of the scheme".
Energy consumption in Panama continues to rise by about 6% year on year, which poses a necessity to develop new energy strategies. Previously the country orientated on geo, hydro and wind projects in terms of renewable energy. Being aware of their solar energy prospects, the state authorities expected the prices for solar energy capacities to decrease, so that the government could start to support solar projects. Mr. Diaz emphasized the importance of high developed infrastructure, so that more investors were interested in Panamanian energy market.
Recently SkyPower has been announcing about their new projects to be managed in African and Asian countries. They are to deliver 150 megawatts of solar power to the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the company committed to provide 200 MW capacities in Djibouti. The most large-scale project of 2 GW of solar energy was announced to take place in Bangladesh. On the October 6, 2015 during the 70th United General Assembly in New York SkyPower made an announcement about their future cooperation with government of Panama in solar energy sphere. They uncovered the momentous agreement with President Juan Carlos Varela aimed at building 500 MW of utility-scale solar energy during the time period of the next 5 years. The project is to contribute $1 billion investment on behalf of the United States.
Aside from the 500 MW solar park, SkyPower has also committed themselves to construct a US $50 million state-of-the-art solar and environmental research center in Panama for solar photovoltaic development and innovative research in the field of environmental sciences. The center is anticipated to become a scientific hub for environmental researches and solar technologies innovation in Central America. It will bring a potential for Panama to generate significant licensing revenues.
Kerry Adler, SkyPower President and Chief Executive Officer emphasized that their aim was to invest in countries that encourage environmental sustainability and preservation. Due to these investments SkyPower upholds the economies and industry of the states they cooperate with. "The future of Panama looks bright, as the country's leadership is focused on the necessity for renewable energy and has chosen solar energy as a cost-effective option of addressing Panama's energy needs today". As SkyPower Chief Commercial Officer Charles Cohen remarked, $1 billion investment is estimated to create more than 10,000 total jobs. On behalf of Panama, Emanuel Gonzales-Revilla, Ambassador of the Republic of Panama to the United States, said that their country was glad to welcome the announcement from SkyPower and was looking forward to ensuring clear energy and green jobs in Panama.
Not only SkyPower invests in large-scale solar projects in Asia, Africa and Central America, but the company has also committed itself to ensure 10 scholarships a year for the students of these countries to pursue the higher education in renewable energy technologies in the best universities of their countries. This program will be operating for 25 years, which is the term of solar park operation activity. These educational programs are to be fulfilled in India and Panama so far. In Panama the project will be started with the beginning of energy generating at the new solar-facilities in Panama. The scholarships are targeted at promotion and innovation in solar technology so as to help in meeting countries' energy goals. This program will educate high-professional renewable energy specialists, who are going to develop the industry in future long-run prospects.
The promotion of renewable energy sources in the developing countries suggests that clean energy is becoming affordable for more nations and people and opens new horizons for investing and industry development there.
SkyPower is one of the biggest developers and providers of solar energy capacities of utility-scale in the world. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The SkyPower team has assembled and acquired capacities of over 25 GW, recently cooperating with countries in Asia and Africa, such as Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Djibouti, India and Panama.
