David, Panama | July 5th, 2023
Greenwood Energy has announced the beginning of the construction of ɅLMɅ MɅTER, a solar energy project that will enable the University of Panama [“UP”], the largest in the country, to become the first academic institution in Latin America with the capacity to be powered entirely with renewable energy.
The project, with a capacity of 40-megawatt peak [MWp], will have four solar power plants located in a property owned by the College of Agricultural Sciences of the UP, close to the city of David in Chiriquí province.
This development will be paired with nearly $30 million in academic and technical support provided by Greenwood Energy and distributed over 20 years to advance and grow Panama’s renewable energy future. These funds provided by ɅLMɅ MɅTER to the university will help create new research programs and renewable energy courses, while contributing laboratory equipment, scholarships, internships, and more. Also, after the 20th year of operation of the solar project, the power generation assets will be donated to the university, increasing even further their savings in electricity costs. To learn more about this historical partnership visit https://bit.ly/3YDNZSJ.
This is yet another important milestone for this groundbreaking project, following the signature of a $30 million financing agreement between Greenwood Energy and Global Bank Corporation [www.globalbank.com.pa] in February 2023. “We’re grateful to our trusted partners at Global Bank, whose resources will allow this project to come to fruition, and we look forward to growing the relationship between our group and the bank in the future” said Camilo Patrignani, Libra Group’s EVP of Energy, who was instrumental in the deal.
ɅLMɅ MɅTER not only represents the largest solar project with the education sector in Latin America, but also comprises close to 10% of the Panamanian solar energy matrix. This project, which integrates Greenwood Energy’s “Reimagining Development” series of projects, is set to become a beacon of sustainable energy and social impact, providing green power to the university’s 228 buildings and its over 90,000 students and 10,000 professors and staff across Panama.
To ensure the successful execution of the project, Greenwood Energy has partnered with SEMI [www.gruposemi.com], a Spanish company with over 100 years of experience in the energy industry, to perform the engineering, procurement, and construction of the solar plants, which are estimated to start operations in the second semester of 2024.