Panama’s first solar powered poultry farm

PANAMA’S FIRST poultry farm operating on solar energy and the first to be funded under a new green energy program, is already pointing the way to greater profitability while helping the country’s environmental sustainability targets.   

Ivanhoe José de Roux, owner of The Cauca farm, in the La Arenosa, district of El Zaino in La Chorrera, was  spending $4000 a month to operate   three galleys covering a total area of 1,860 square meters.

Now, with solar panels, the farm which has been in business for 26 years,  will no longer have to pay any money to the power company, only $1,400 , monthly to the National Bank (Banconal) for funding the installation.

This will represent a savings of $$2 600 monthly to invest in other projects to continue the development and growth of the farm.

Ignacio Fuster of  Realsolar, the  company responsible for the installation of  the solar panels, said  that  300 solar panels with a 25 year life span were used  to provide  energy to the galleys, which have a capacity for 95,000  thousand chickens.

Unlike the 60% financing of given to the Cauca estate for installations of solar panels, Banconal  will now provide  80% for poultry farmers and interested farmers, said Luis Diaz, executive manager of the Agricultural Bank Banconal.

He said  that the sectors that can apply for the funding are poultry, pork and dairy.