The proposed 30-MW run-of-river Bonyic greenfield hydroelectric facility is located near indigenous Naso communities and the town of Changuinola in Bocas del Toro Province, Panama, and just outside the boundaries of the La Amistad National Park within the buffer zone of the Palo Seco Protective Forest.
The project will involve a 40-m-high RCC dam, a 3.8-km-long tunnel, and a 377-m-long penstock and powerhouse. The project will also include access roads, a bridge over the Teribe river and an 11-km 115-kV transmission line connecting the plant to the Changuinola substation. The gross head of the project will be approximately 149 m, with the impounded reservoir providing sufficient storage for daily flow regulation with gross storage of 1.38 million cubic metres. Once commissioned, the project will produce an average of 133 GWh per year.
Hatch conducted an Independent Engineer’s evaluation of the proposed 30-MW run-of-rover Bonyic greenfield hydroelectric facility. Hatch’s scope of work included a review of the technical and contractual aspects of the turnkey engineering-procurement-construction arrangement for the project. The scope of work also included a review of the environmental and social aspects of the project, and Equator Principles and IFC Performance Standards compliance analysis.
A Hatch team consisting of hydropower engineering and environmental specialists conducted a site visit and met with various stakeholders and Panamanian authorities to gather information on the electricity sector, basin hydrology, and the environmental assessment, approvals and monitoring process. A review of the regulatory framework and the status of the permits and approvals for the project was carried out, which also included discussions with the Panamanian environmental authority (ANAM). Meetings were also held with the local environmental consultant who conducted the environmental and social impact studies.
The developer had conducted extensive consultations with the surrounding indigenous communities and entered into a compensation agreement with the Naso population. The compensation programme was based on indemnifying the population for affected lands, taking into account the type of crop and land ownership, and included a number of infrastructure improvement and community facilities.
Based on Hatch’s review of the existing information and discussions with the environmental and engineering consultants involved in the design and environmental assessment of the project, as well as the authorities and stakeholders, Hatch was able to show that the project met Equator Principles and IFC Performance Standards to the satisfaction of other lenders.
