European renewable energy developers pull Panama projects

Three renewable energy projects for a combined 209MW in Panama have been pulled from the licensing process by their European developers, BNamericas has learned.

Information from the Central American country's public services regulator Asep reveals that the watchdog accepted a request from Innovent Central América, a subsidiary of German wind company InnoVent, to "desist" regarding the provisional license for the 68.2MW Los Cerros wind farm.

Asep granted Innovent Central América the license in December 2016 for the project which was planned for Veraguas province.

The InnoVent unit filed the request last December as "they did not consider it [Los Cerros] viable in the current market conditions," according to the regulator.

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Asep also accepted a "desist" request from Innovent Central América regarding the provisional license for the 111MW Los Pinos wind farm, also planned for Veraguas.

Los Pinos' license was granted in December 2016 and a license extension was filed last November. The following month, Innovent Central América said that if the extension were to be rejected, Asep would cancel the license.

In Panama, Innovent Central América holds a definitive license for the 74MW Santa Cruz project, which is in final design and provisional licenses for projects Altiplano (56.4MW), Las Honduras (134MW) and Los Manglares (136MW).

NEOEN

In addition, the regulator accepted a request from Neoen Panamá, a subsidiary of Paris-based Neoen, to "desist" regarding the provisional license for the 30MW Neoen Chiriquí solar PV project.

Asep granted Neoen Panamá the license in October 2014 for the park which was planned for Chiriquí province.