Caribbean & Central America - August 2017 (ISSN 1741-4458)

Energy plan: On 6 July, Panama’s energy ministry presented its new national energy plan in the framework of a so-called “Energy Atlas”, a document drawn up by the ministry alongside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which sets out guidelines for the next 35 years. 

According to UNDP administrator in Panama Fernando Hiraldo, the plan’s main objectives are making the energy matrix more sustainable and improving energy efficiency. Panama’s national energy secretary, Víctor Carlos Urrutia, said that the plan was established through a participative process which began in 2015. He explained that the plan is based on four essential pillars: universal access & energy poverty reduction; decarbonisation of the energy matrix; energy efficiency; and moderating consumption & energy security.

The plan also contains concrete objectives including the proposal to transform the electricity sector so that by 2050 70% of Panama’s electricity will be generated by renewable energy sources, up from 66.5% at present.

Also present at the event was Vice-President Isabel de Saint Malo who highlighted efforts by President Juan Carlos Varela’s government aimed at constructing a cleaner, more diversified and more competitive energy matrix. These efforts include the fact that Panama has attracted US$2bn of foreign direct investment (FDI) into renewable resources and is developing the first liquified natural gas (LNG) plant in Central America, due to open in May 2018 in the northern province of Colón. De Saint Malo also noted that Panama has the largest wind farm in Central America and the Caribbean region, located in the city of Penonomé in Coclé province, which generates 8% of the country’s electricity demand, preventing the emission of 450,000 tonnes of coal and saving approximately 900 barrels of oil a year.

FDI: According to recent figures from Panama’s national statistics institute (Inec), foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first quarter of 2017 reached US$1.3bn – up 10.7% on the same period the previous year. The most recent (29 June) US State Department’s Investment Climate Statement notes that Panama received a record US$5.21bn in FDI in 2016 – up 16% from 2015, and it retains one of the highest “FDI to GDP” ratios in Latin America.