Panama steps up solar use to fight climate change

IN LINE with its commitment to the Paris climate accord, Panama will install in the next few months 100  solar panels in public and private buildings throughout the country which stop the emission of 106,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) and provide a boost to solar thermal energy.

The devices are part of the pilot project “Termosolar Panamá”, promoted by the Government and UN Environment agency, and will save more than $3 million in fossil fuels says the Energy Secretariat. said.

“Panama invests annually between 140 and 253 million dollars in subsidies to fossil fuels,” said the institution.

The installation of the heaters will also help Panama to comply with the Paris Agreement, which was adopted by almost 200 countries in 2015 and seeks to ensure that the increase in temperature at the end of the century does not exceed 2 degrees Celsius.

The first panel is already in the veterinary clinic of Summit Municipal Park, a zoo located in the Panama Canal watershed. Panels will also be installed in different hospitals in the interior and in school canteens and hotels in the capital.

The Government approved in 2016 the  National Energy Plan 2015-2050, which has the ambitious objective of diversifying its energy matrix and achieving by 2050 that by 2050, of the installed capacity comes from renewable energies.

According to data from the National Dispatch Center,60% of the electricity consumed in Panama in 2016 came from hydroelectric power, 32% from thermal power, 7% from wind power and 1% of self-generation.

Panama hosts the largest wind farm in Central America and the Caribbean, which has more than a hundred turbines and has a production capacity of 337.5 megawatts.

The electricity demand has had continuous growth since 1980, and in 2015 reached the peak figure of 1,600 megawatts (MW), according to the center.