Permitting begins for Panama’s US$700mn 4th power line

Environmental permitting has begun for Panama’s planned US$696mn, 330km fourth main power transmission line.

State power transmission company Etesa has submitted an environmental impact study to the environment ministry for the 500kV Chiriquí Grande-Panamá III link.

The line will run from the Chiriquí Grande substation in Bocas del Toro province to the Panamá III substation in Panamá province, and cross the provinces of Veraguas, Colón, Coclé and Panamá Oeste, as well as the Ngäbe Buglé indigenous reserve.

The project will cover 2,310ha and includes a 70m-wide easement along the route which will boast 909 towers and cross 226 properties, according to the EIS and related documents, which total over 20,000 pages.

The two substations are not included in this evaluation, with the EIS for Panamá III presented by Etesa last November.

The 1,280MVA line – 1,856MVA in emergency conditions – is due to take 30 months to build and initially operate at 230kV for two years.

The government plans to offer the project as a PPP.

Etesa’s proposed plan for the national interconnected system (PESIN) highlights the importance of the line to increase dispatch capacity, particularly production from renewable energy.

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