Entropy buys 33-MWp PV portfolio in Panama from Hanwha Q Cells

Photovoltaics (PV) maker Hanwha Q Cells Co Ltd (NASDAQ:HQCL) said Friday it has sold its entire stake in 33 MWp of photovoltaic (PV) schemes in Panama to affiliates of Entropy Investment Management LLC.

“With this acquisition, Entropy will be the largest operator of clean, renewable solar power in the Republic of Panama, one of the fastest growing and significant economies in Latin America,” managing director, Tyler Fauerbach, said. The capacity of the utility-scale solar parks is given in direct current (DC).

The facilities will be built on idle grazing land in the provinces of Hererra, Cocle and Los Santos. Following two years of project development, Hanwha began funding their construction earlier in 2015, according to the press release.

The US-based unit of Hanwha Q Cells worked together with local partner Renventure, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor SEMI, the Panama public service agency ASEP, the Panama environmental authority ANAM and power transmission company EDEMET on the project portfolio. It did not benefit from any federal, state, local or corporate incentives, the company noted.

The plants will use Hanwha Solar HSL polycrystalline modules, which are expected to generate enough electricity to power some 15,000 local households annually over the next 30 years. Once operational in end-2015, the output of Panama's largest utility-scale solar portfolio is estimated to be enough to offset over 36,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission each year while also helping to reduce the country’s dependence on oil and hydro generation.

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