World Small Hydropower Development Report 2013

Transcription

1 World Small Hydropower Development Report PANAMA

2 Disclaimer Published in 2013 by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP) UNIDO and ICSHP All rights reserved This report was jointly produced by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP) to provide information about small hydropower. The document has been produced without formal United Nations editing. The designations employed and the presentations of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of UNIDO and ICSHP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or its economic system or degree of development. Designations such as developed, industrialized and developing are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process: Mention of firm names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by UNIDO or its partners. The opinions, statistical data and estimates contained in the articles are the responsibility of the author(s) and should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or bearing the endorsement of UNIDO and its partners. While every care has been taken to ensure that the content is useful and accurate, UNIDO and ICSHP and any contributing third parties shall have no legal liability or responsibility for the content or the accuracy of the information so provided, or for any loss or damage caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with reliance on the use of such information. Copyright: Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgement is requested, together with a copy of the publication containing the quotation or reprint. Recommended citation: Liu, H., Masera, D. and Esser, L., eds. (2013). World Small Hydropower Development Report United Nations Industrial Development Organization; International Center on Small Hydro Power. Available from

3 2 Americas 2.2 Central America Panama Yan Huang, International Center on Small Hydro Power Key facts Population 3,510,045 1 Area 78,200 km 2 Climate Tropical maritime: hot, humid, cloudy 1 Topography Interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills 1 Rain pattern Caribbean coast: precipitation in the rainy season from May to December accounts for per cent and in the dry season only per cent. Pacific coast: precipitation in rainy season is per cent and 7-15 per cent during remaining time of the year 2 Electricity sector overview The electrification rate in Panama is 88.1 per cent. 3 By the end of 2011, Panama had 2,391 MW installed electricity generation capacity, 56.5 per cent (1,351 MW) hydropower, and 43.5 per cent (1,040 MW) thermal (figure 1). 4 Thermal Hydropower Figure 1 Electricity generation in Panama Source: Secretaría Nacional de Energía % 56.5% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% The National Secretariat of Energy is in charge of formulating energy policies according to the National Plan of Development. In Panama, hydropower development started in 1915 with the construction of the Panama Canal. In 1961, the Instituto de Recursos Hidráulicos y Electrificación (IRHE) was established and served as a state-owned enterprise, which made a plan of a series of small/medium hydropower projects. In 1972, the nationalization of the electric sector covered the whole electric system. As a result in 1974, the Electric System of IRHE was created. According to the Law No. 6 dated 3 February 1997, the generation (four enterprises), distribution (three enterprises) and transmission (one enterprise) were separated and parts of the shares of some generation and distribution enterprises were privatized. 5 Small hydropower sector overview and potential In Panama, hydropower plants are considered small hydropower if the capacity does not exceed 5 MW. There are 10 small hydropower plants in Panama with a capacity under 10 MW and a total installed capacity of 38.8 MW (figure 2). Four of the smaller plants are reported not to be operational. 6 According to the Inventory of Hydroelectric Projects (Inventario de Proyectos Hidroelectricos) carried out by Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica S.A. (ETESA), in 2000 the total potential for small hydropower projects with capacities ranging between 1 kw and 100 kw was 1.2 MW, for those ranging between 100 kw and 1 MW was 5.22 MW and for those ranging between 1MW and 10MW was MW, thus with a total of MW. 7 SHP installed capacity SHP potential MW Figure 2 Small hydropower capacities in Panama MW In order to overcome the low electrification rate in Panama the Oficina de Electrificación Rural aims to increase rural electrification by the use of micro hydro, photovoltaics and small wind projects. 8 Renewable energy policy Article 55 of Law No. 6 established in 1997, states that it is in the Government s agenda to encourage the diversity of energy sources and to mitigate adverse environmental impacts by reducing the country s dependency on traditional energy sources. Competitions and auctions for the sale of electricity are incorporated with a five per cent discount for renewable energy purchases. 9 The Government of Panama has not established specific targets for renewable energy but it has increased its support through the approval of different incentives. The Law 45 has provided strong incentives for small renewable energy applications, including hydro, geothermal, wind, solar and other renewable energy technologies. In addition, the National Assembly has launched incentive laws for renewable energy such as import and other tax exemptions for equipment of wind generation (projects under 10 MW) and large hydropower. Wind generation benefits from 25 per cent of repaying the initial investment based on their carbon credits. 10 Legislation on small hydropower In 2004 the Government enacted Law 45 (Establishment of an Incentive Regime for Systems of Hydraulic Generation and of Other New, Renewable and Clean Sources) that established preferential measures for mini and small hydropower plants, i.e. 1

4 mini hydropower plants may realize sales contracts directly with electric distribution companies with exemption from distribution and transmission costs. Small hydropower plants are granted this exemption for the first 10 MW during the first 10 years of commercial operation. 10 Barriers to small hydropower development Panama is disadvantaged by an underdeveloped value chain regarding small hydro, despite the room for development and growth of a value chain, encouraged by the generous policy tax incentive. In addition, a dearth of microfinance institutions and local investors further hinders the progress of the small hydropower sector. 8 References 1. Central Intelligence Agency (2012). The World Factbook. Available from 2. Secretaría Nacional de Energía (n.d.). Característica Geomorfológica y Geológica de Panamá. Panamá. Available from 3. International Energy Agency (2011). World Energy Outlook 2011, 9 November Paris. 4. Organización Latinoamericana de Energía (2012) Energy Statistics Report. Quito. 5. Secretaría Nacional de Energía (n.d.). Generación SIN. Panamá. Available from 6. Secretaría Nacional de Energía. Desarrollo de las Hidroeléctricas. Panamá. Available from 7. Secretaría Nacional de Energía (2000). Inventario de Proyectos Hidroelectricos. Panamá. Available from idroelectricos.pdf. 8. Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Multilateral Investment Fund (2012). Climatescope 2012-Assessing the Climate for Climate Investing in Latin America and the Caribbean. New York. Available from www5.iadb.org/mif/climatescope/2012/img/content/ pdfs/eng/climatescope2012-report.pdf. 9. Johnson, Amanda and Meisen, Peter (2012). Achieving 100% Reliance on Renewable Energy for Electricity Generation in Central America. Global Energy Network Institute. San Diego. Available from gy-transmission-central-america/central%20america% 20Renewable%20Energy%20Resources.pdf. 10. Madrigal, Marcelino and Stoft, Steven (2012). Transmission Expansion for Renewable Energy Scale-Up: Emerging Lessons and Recommendations. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Washington D.C.: World Bank. Available from dle/10986/9375/702650pub0epi b pdf?sequence=1. 2

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