Context
Panama is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including fluctuating rainfall patterns and tropical storms, which have inflicted serious damage in recent years. Currently, 45% of Panama’s installed electricity generation capacity comes from hydroelectric sources, which are susceptible to capacity loss for prolonged periods due to either extreme drought, or intense rain and flooding. To avoid blackouts, the country has resorted to the use of thermal generation plants that rely on fossil fuels. The linear transmission system linking opposite ends of the country has not been configured to account for the effects of climate change, and while these impacts are evident in the stability of the power generation system, little attention has been given thus far to the sector’s vulnerability. Ensuring the sustainable development of the energy sector requires assessing these impacts along the sector’s supply chain to identify current knowledge gaps and areas for the development and implementation of measures that can increase resilience while reducing GHG emissions, as energy is also a target sector for mitigation.
CTCN Support
The CTCN is identifying stakeholders, collecting information on climate change impacts and risks; identifying adaptation measures and researching experiences and lessons learned from Latin American countries with similar challenges; and evaluating and recommending appropriate measures for each subsector at national and regional in action plans.
Expected Impact
The ultimate development of a Power Generation Sector Adaptation Plan will support the country's preparedness to avoid or reduce future costs arising from extreme weather events, and the mainstreaming of climate considerations into the sector's infrastructure and value chains. The planning document will enable decision-making related to resilient investments in different regions and cities of the country. The technical assistance will also contribute to the achievement of Panama’s updated NDC, which commits to increasing the use of renewable energy to decarbonize the energy sector.
Seeking Experts
The UN Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) is inviting its Network members to assist Panama. Interested Network members are invited to submit a form, ‘Expression of Interest(EoI)’. For those who are interested, please visit the UNGM Portal (https://www.ungm.org/Public/Notice/176640) and click the blue button ‘Express Interest’ on your top right. All applicants should also be registered (free of charge) at United Nations Global Marketplace (www.ungm.org).
Please note that this request for expression of interest (EOI) is not an invitation for submission of tenders. Its purpose is to identify companies that would be interested and eligible to participate in the solicitation when issued. Vendors that are deemed qualified upon completion of an objective evaluation of their EOI submission will receive the final tender solicitation documents.
In case you are not a CTCN network member yet, you may still apply (further details are found in the document) here.
