Projects in Panama
Macho de Monte hydraulic power plant
The Macho de Monte hydraulic power plant was the first to be built in the country, in 1937. It is situated in the town of Cuesta de Piedra, in the district of Bugaba.
In 2001, the power plant underwent a repowering process to obtain greater performance from the hydraulic jump at the facility. The project consisted of building a new powerhouse for two new generators with horizontal-axis Francis hydraulic turbines from Alstom. Each turbine has a capacity of 1,5 MW, which means it has a total installed capacity of 2.5 MW. The operation of turbines was also automated. Like Dolega, this plant is controlled from the Generation Control Centre (GCC) via VSAT.
It is a run-of-river plant with a diversion channel and settler tank; it takes water from the Macho de Monte river along an open channel to the intake chamber that feeds the penstock leading to the powerhouse with a net jump of 71.8 metres. Finally, the water is discharged back into the river.
La Yeguada hydraulic power plant
La Yeguada stands out for its hydraulic performance, with an installed capacity of 6.6 MW. It comprises two reservoirs, one natural — La Yeguada — and the other artificial — El Flor.
The main intake for the power plant comes from the San Juan river and the El Hato gorge at intake and discharge elevations of 660 and 268, respectively.
The El Flor reservoir was formed by building an earth dam and two dykes at an elevation of 560 metres. The water flows from there via a 400-metre tunnel and 900-metre penstock to the La Yeguada Power Plant, with an installed capacity of 6.0 MW (two 3 MW Pelton units).
Los Algarrobos hydraulic power plant
The Los Algarrobos hydropower plant is located in the province of Chiriquí (Panama) and was opened in 2010.
The project consists of a run-of-river hydropower plant that uses the entire flow from the Algarrobos gorge and the Casita de Piedra river, discharging into the Chiriquí river.
The purpose of these facilities is to collect and then channel the water from the rivers to a common location (intake chamber), from where it is transported via a penstock to the powerhouse and two Pelton–type 4.98 MW turbines, which together add up a total installed capacity of 9.96 MW.
Dolega hydraulic power plant
The Dolega Power Plant is run-of-river and uses waters from the Cochea river through a diversion dam and an intake. The water is directed through a 3.6 km long channel to two loading chambers, then to the penstocks and finally to the units in the powerhouse.
In 2001, the power plant underwent a series of repowering and automation upgrades. The project consisted of building a new powerhouse for three new generators with horizontal-axis Francis hydraulic turbines from Alstom, maintaining the civil and hydraulic infrastructure unchanged. Each turbine has a capacity of 1,5 MW, which entails a total installed capacity of 3 MW.
Dolega was registered by the United Nations as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, with the aim of complying with the Kyoto Protocol of which Panama is a signatory.
