Panama expands forecasting system with expertise from Oldenburg

energy & meteo systems has been commissioned by Euroclima to help enhance Panama’s solar and wind power forecasting system. This vital initiative aims to facilitate the seamless integration of weather-dependent renewable energy into the country's power grid.

Euroclima, a program co-funded by the EU and Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ), supports a green and equitable energy transition in Latin America. As part of this collaboration, our colleague Ulrich Kaltenbach recently visited Panama to engage directly with key stakeholders, including SNE (Panama’s Energy Ministry), CND (Transmission System Operator), and solar and wind power plant operators.

The visit also featured a capacity-building workshop for 55 professionals from the electricity sector. Ulrich provided an introduction into international best practices in solar and wind power forecasting, fostering local expertise in this topic.

Panama’s power system, with an average demand of ~1.8 GW, already has 669 MW of solar and wind power plus ~120 MW of solar capacity for self-consumption. This significant share of renewables highlights the need for accurate forecasts and streamlined processes to ensure a smooth grid integration of variable electricity production.

The next step is a comprehensive analysis of forecast and measurement data from selected wind and solar plants in Panama. As part of this, energy & meteo systems will generate historical forecasts (backcasts) to benchmark the accuracy of existing power forecasts.

For further information on the project, please see Euroclima´s website.